Kurosaki Shindererra
by AbaraiSuzuka
Summary: Karin Kurosaki hasn't had the best luck, but that's set to change when she meets a strange peasant in a deserted field. Who is this strange boy who hides his features? AU Part II now up! Finally Finished!
1. Karin

Yo, my new fic. Warning: Serious OOCness, sorry

Right, this is based on Cinderella (as you can see from the title of this thing), aight, it's not actually an adaptation of it, just a spin-off because the characters that I wanted to focus this on didn't fit in with the whole Cinderella thing.

Anywho, please be sure to lemme know what you think on this...The writing style, I mean. That is what I post fanfics for.

Disclaimer: I don own Bleach, if I did I wouldn't be broke as fuck

* * *

There was to be a ball. Apparently, the Prince was looking for a wife and every woman in the kingdom was invited.

"Hey, Cinderella, what the hell? Didn't I just request a glass of milk?" Rukia Kurosaki said harshly.

Karin Kurosaki's eye twitched. "It's Karin." She said through gritted teeth.

Rukia scoffed. "Whatever. Just get my milk already."

Karin was about to retort when her brother strode into the room.

"Karin, do what she says." Ichigo said sharply.

Karin ground her teeth even tighter, bowed and left the room to go to the kitchens. It hadn't been long since Rukia had been living in this household. Isshin Kurosaki, Karin and Ichigo's father, had died some months back and this is what had made Ichigo return home and he'd surprised everyone by bringing a wife with him. He was now in charge of this household and he loved his wife dearly and he made sure that she got whatever she wanted, even if that included making the lives of his younger sisters (or more specifically, Karin's life) a living hell. Karin despised Rukia and she made no show of hiding it. That was probably why Rukia picked on her the most and always reported her misbehaviour to her husband.

Karin had always been a bit of a rebel. She didn't go with the flow, had never gone with the flow. Whereas Rukia and her twin sister Yuzu were quite girly, Karin was a bit of a tomboy. She didn't wear makeup, she didn't wear overly long, flowing dresses, and she never tried styling her hair so that it looked shiny or attractive and she liked to indulge in sports, but she seldom got a chance to do so nowadays. Her family practically treated her like a slave and it was all Rukia's fault; she'd turned Karin's siblings against her. Her twin sister, Yuzu, used to be the sweetest thing that ever lived but she'd begun to turn nasty after Rukia turned up. Of course, part of her sudden "nastiness" had something to do with Isshin's death; the father and daughter used to be very close, but Yuzu turned to Rukia (of all people) after their brother came back and she didn't hesitate to back Rukia up whenever Karin defied her.

Karin was about to slink away and forget Rukia's glass of milk when a voice spoke up behind her.

"Karin-chan, you weren't going to disobey Rukia Nee-chan and Ichigo Nii-Sama, were you?"

Karin abruptly straightened up and her expression became carefully blank. "Oh, Hinamori-chan." She turned around and faced the girl with the dark hair. Hinamori Momo lived with them; she'd come here when Rukia and Ichigo had come. She was Rukia's cousin and she hadn't had anywhere to go so Ichigo, out of his need to ascertain that Rukia got whatever she wanted, had invited her to stay in the Kurosaki household for as long as she wanted. Karin disliked Hinamori...she disliked her as much as she disliked Rukia, but she'd never say such a thing. "Of course not." She grit her teeth again and went to get some milk and a glass.

Hinamori smiled and took the glass from her after she'd poured the milk and began to walk away. "I'll take this to Rukia-nee."

"Punk-ass little..." Karin began under her breath.

Hinamori turned to look back at her in the threshold of the kitchen. "What was that, Karin-chan?"

"Nothing." Karin turned away from her and exited through another doorway. She banged the door shut behind her and strode angrily towards the main entrance.

Ever since Isshin's death, her life had been miserable. It was a known fact that Karin wasn't an average girl; if she believed in something, she'd stand up for it, so she always stood up to Rukia but Ichigo always pushed her back down. She was hurting, though she'd never admit it. It hurt her that the two people she'd had left in the world had turned against her because of some haughty noble's sister (apparently, Rukia was from a wealthy family). She hated Rukia. She hated Ichigo for marrying Rukia. She hated Yuzu for siding with Rukia against her. She hated that Rukia requested that her cousin share everything that was rightfully Karin's. She hated that the other four people in this household beside herself treated her cruelly, just because she hated Rukia. SHE HATED THIS PLACE. She pushed the huge front doors open and strode out of the manor. How she hated this place. She was going to run away one day and that day would be soon.

_I know, that stupid ball's coming up, how about the time of that_? She thought as a bright flicker of hope ignited within her heart. But it died almost straightaway, by her own will. She wasn't going anywhere until she was good and ready, until she was sure that she could hurt her family as much as they'd hurt her. They deserved to die.

She instantly regretted thinking such a thing. _It's not their fault that Rukia's such an influential bitch__. Rukia deserves to die_.

She punched the wall nearest to her, quite hard, to relieve some of the tension she was feeling and was glad when pain invaded every nerve in her knuckles. Some of her skin had been scraped off and blood immediately welled up around the affected areas. She looked at the red liquid seeping out of her and sighed.

_If only mom and dad were still here_, she thought miserably. She didn't remember much of her mother but she knew that the fair haired Masaki Kurosaki had been a kind and beautiful lady with a soft touch and the best voice. After Masaki died, the family had fallen apart and Isshin had tried to preserve it as only he could, through his stupid theatrics. He hadn't been a very successful father, had even been downright annoying, but he'd tried, which was way more than Ichigo was doing now. Karin had once admired her brother's courage (he'd fought to help her and Yuzu on numerous occasions) but ever since their mother had died, he'd always worn a scowl. She'd always wished he'd stop scowling and start smiling. He had stopped scowling, and it was on account of Rukia, but Karin didn't like her because she felt that the petite haired woman was taking advantage of her brother. How perfectly ironic that she, the one who had wished he'd stop frowning all the time, was now the only thing that made him do so._ Stupid Rukia, I'll get you for corrupting Ichi-nii_. She thought bitterly, licking the blood off her knuckled and spitting it out.

_"Oh, my, Ichigo, you didn't tell me you had sisters. And twin sisters at that!" A delighted Rukia exclaimed as she came in through the door and spotted the younger girls. Ichigo bade a servant to take her bags as she put them down and went to greet the girls. "Good afternoon, how do you do?" Rukia bowed formally to the girls and they did likewise, wondering who this raven-haired young woman was. Rukia then proceeded to give Yuzu and Karin a hug, taking them by surprise. Yuzu hesitantly hugged the older girl back but Karin stood stiffly, not making a move. Another girl came in after Rukia and she also had dark hair and she was about the same height as Rukia. She greeted the twins and they bowed once more, wondering what the hell was going on. "So, who's who?" Rukia asked, overly enthusiastic._

_"I'm Yuzu." Yuzu chirped._

_"Who the hell're you?" Karin asked rudely._

_A dark shadow passed over Rukia's features as she regarded her. But it was only momentary, soon she was smiling again. It was a fake smile, Karin could tell. The woman was only pretending to take an interest for Ichigo's sake. This annoyed her; she didn't like pretension. "Well, Karin, I'm Rukia Kurosaki."_

_The twins had gone wide-eyed, though Karin tried to keep her emotions to herself, like she often did. Yuzu squealed and grasped the woman's hands and jumped up and down yelling, "Ichi-nii got a wife! Welcome to our home, Rukia-san!" Karin had only stared, neither joyous nor sad. Emotions weren't really her type of thing._

It had all gone downhill from there for Rukia and Karin. Karin had tended to avoid speaking to the older woman but sometimes Rukia would ask her and question and she'd answer rather abruptly. This had annoyed Ichigo several times so he'd snapped at her to be more civil. Karin had been stunned the first time he'd said that; Ichigo had never said anything like "be civil" in his life so where had that come from? This woman had changed him, no doubt about it, and Karin didn't like this change.

* * *

"Is there really any point? I said I'd marry when I'm ready!" Toushirou Hitsugaya exploded. In order to establish the rarity of the event of Toushirou losing his cool, the situation is that his mother has been talking incessantly for the last hour about the upcoming ball and his choosing a "nice and well rounded girl".

"But Toushirou, darling, when is that going to be? You're already eighteen." His mother, Chikako Hitsugaya- wife of the King, argued.

"Mother," Hitsugaya began, taking a deep breath, "I respect that you are just looking out for me but really, I can look after myself. I'm not a child anymore." He stood up from the table and made to go but Chikako grasped his arm gently. He looked down at her. Her gaze turned pleading for a second but immediately cleared and she let go of him.

"Your father is ailing and he expects you to have a wife by the time he..." She said softly. She had tried to keep it steady and blank but her voice cracked on the last words and she didn't continue.

Hitsugaya's eyes softened momentarily. It wasn't often that he saw the "soft side" to his mother. She was very strict when it came to emotions. A curtain of long, white hair fell across her face, hiding her features from view. His gaze hardened again. He turned around and strode out of the room. He needed to think.

* * *

Karin always went to a deserted field some mile or so away from her house. It was a calm place and she frequently went there. It had a grove of trees at the end of it and sometimes she'd go walking among them. She'd spent some evenings here, not caring that she might create a fuss back home. Well, even if her family did need her, it'd only be for "slave" purposes.

She sighed in relaxation as she walked into her field. The sun was beginning its steady descent into the west. Sunset was a little way away.

She liked watching the sunset; it brought about with it a sense of...finality that all things come to an end, just as the day. _Maybe someday we'll be a normal family_. She thought. She knew that, unless Rukia left, that was not a possibility. She would have been happy for her brother, because he'd found someone who made him smile, but she didn't _like_ Rukia. Goodness knows, she'd tried to get along with the petite woman but she just could not make herself be companionable towards her. And then there was Rukia's orders and requests, which Ichigo (the lovesick idiot) was always willing to carry out. Karin sometimes wondered how the two of them met and whether it'd be possible for her to go back in time and prevent it from happening (_if only_, she sighed).

She walked through the grove of trees and leant against one of the thick-trunked ones at the front and looked up at the sky. All the different colours, the reds, the pinks, yellows, oranges, even blues made her smile as she looked on._ A piece called The Sunset by the one they call God, a true masterpiece_, she thought. It would have sounded sarcastic if she'd said it aloud, as did almost everything she said. She found that cynicism was a good way of making people hate her because they thought she hated them and, at this moment, she hated everybody.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A cold voice cut through her thoughts.

Karin jumped up, startled, and looked about for the owner of the disembodied voice.

"Up here."

She looked up at the tree she was leaning on. A boy in rags sat on a thick branch, looking at the distant horizon. She frowned and then clambered up the tree herself. "What're you doing up here?" She asked the boy, sitting on a branch opposite his.

"Same as you; thinking." He replied expressionlessly.

Karin gazed at him briefly, trying to discern some features but none were visible. He had on a cap, which hid his hair and eyes from view and some dirt speckled his face and arms and his bare feet. From his build, she could tell he was strong; his shoulders were quite broad and his bare arms pretty muscular, though not too muscular. He was quite tall, easily taller than her. His age was undetectable. "About what?" She asked, turning back to the sunset.

"Stuff." He replied, hugging his knees tighter to his chest.

They sat in silence as they watched.

"What happened to your hand?" The boy asked after a few minutes, though he didn't sound in the least bit interested.

Karin frowned and looked down at the hand in question. She'd forgotten the throbbing angry red mark there. When did he notice that? She hadn't noticed his head turn to look._ He's creepy_, she thought. "Nothin, just punched somethin." She said vaguely.

"Hmm..." He didn't look at her, just continued watching the horizon.

Karin shot him a wary glance before turning her attention in the same direction._ This guy's definitely weird_. She noticed a faint purplish scar on his right bicep and wondered what had happened there, but she didn't ask. She tried to ignore him as the sun dipped lower and lower, until it would eventually sink below the scope of their vision.

"Do you come down here often?" He asked after another lengthy silence.

Karin frowned once again. What was with the questions? "I guess so. Do you?"

He shrugged, a slight movement, but didn't speak.

Karin huffed to herself but didn't say anything.

"What's your name?" He asked.

Karin stifled a sigh of irritation and answered snappishly, "Kurosaki."

He seemed a little taken aback at that. He sat up just a little straighter. "Am I offending you...Kurosaki?"

She didn't answer, just sat hugging her knees.

The boy shrugged to himself and climbed off the tree. Karin noticed that he was quite graceful and quick. "Goodbye." He ran off quickly. She noticed that he ran lithely, with practiced precision._ What kinda of commoner is that_? She thought questioningly. He wore tatty clothes, he looked to be strong, he spoke _properly_ (meaning there was no slang or any colloquialisms in his manner of speech) and he seemed very...self-possessed and...accurate._ That's no normal peasant_, she speculated, watching the boy's figure as he sped off into the distance. All the friends that she used to have (before her father died and her life became exceptionally hellish), all the boys she'd hung out with had been of the lower class and she'd known their habits inside out and that boy rushing off was not like any of them. She got many of her own habits from hanging about with them, that was why most of the time, she was more like an ill-behaved peasant as opposed to a respectable lord's daughter. It used to annoy her father sometimes that his daughter, who was from a family of such high status, would be seen in the company of boorish peasants. She'd hated that aspect of her father, other than that he'd been a good man.

She didn't spare the boy any more thoughts as she turned back to moping about her family.

* * *

When she got home, Ichigo gave her a lecture about wandering off on her own until so late in the evening.

"Save it, Ichi-nii, just cuz you got nobody else to manipulate." Karin retorted. This earned her smack across the face. She stared at him, dumbstruck. He rarely hit her.

"I'd watch that sharp trap of yours." He said dangerously. "Just remember who you're talkin to."

She glared as she pushed past him._ He must be really mad today_. After she'd gotten up a few stairs, she paused and turned around. Ichigo had just been about to enter the kitchens. "Has she muddled your mind that much, Ichi-nii? Don't your family matter anymore?" She called.

Ichigo turned around, anger in his eyes. "I told you to watch your tongue, brat!"

Karin felt a flare of resentment towards him. "What if I don't? You gonna hit me? Go ahead! Kill me! I got no purpose!"

He snarled but turned back and roughly shoved the door open, entered the room and banged it shut behind him.

Karin's teeth were grit once more as she thundered up the stairs.

"Don't run up the stairs. We can hear you all the way from the dining room." A female voice cut through her thoughts.

Karin suppressed an angry growl as she glanced back at her sister-in-law. "Does it look like I give a shit?" She said, feigning calm.

Rukia narrowed her eyes at her and set her features in a disapproving frown. Karin sighed inwardly; this was all going to be reported to the man of the house later, no doubt.

Karin ignored her and stomped up the rest of the stairs and to her room. She'd even had to move out of the room she used to have, because Hinamori had wanted that one and she'd told Rukia, and Rukia had politely asked her husband if her cousin could have the room that Karin had. Ichigo hadn't even batted an eyelid before he'd agreed. Karin had had a massive argument with him but it'd all mounted to nothing. She ended up moving out and, just to escape the others, she'd moved up to a small, secluded room in the attic. No one had bothered to ask her to choose a room on the same floor as everybody else. They hadn't cared, and they still didn't care.

She banged the door shut after herself and dropped onto the small bed where she slept. She rolled up into a small ball and pulled the covers up to her chins. Just before she fell asleep, her thoughts turned to the boy she'd seen in her field.

* * *

_Strange girl_, Hitsugaya thought as he walked back to the palace. It was under the cover of the night and people would, no doubt, be searching all over for him. He had no problem going about the city in this state. Nobody batted an eyelid when peasants go by.

He'd got some old, normal-looking shirt of his and he'd put it through as much physical strain as he could until he was satisfied that it looked tatty enough so he could pass himself off as being a commoner. He'd repeated the process with a pair of pants and a cap (he'd had to hide his hair _and_ eyes because they were his most definitive features, after all) and smeared some dirt across his skin. He didn't know where to get any poorly made shoes from so he'd left those out of his outfit altogether. The idea of the outfit was so that he could be alone, without having everyone bow to him all the time and all the servants asking if he was well and whether he would like anything. It was quite annoying. Sometimes, he just wanted to be treated normally, like that girl with the dark-hair had treated him today. She had talked to him as if he were her equal, which he believed he was.

His philosophy was that all humans were created equal and deserved to be treated as such. Of course, the disguise was also so that he'd have a better idea of how the people lived. Sometimes, he'd spend a day or two in that outfit, out on the streets, so he could get the experience. His mother worried dreadfully about him on such days. He wanted as much knowledge as he could get on the lives of those who served him so that when he'd have to take the throne, he could work towards giving the people back what they deserved.

His time to rule would come soon; his father, Kaito Hitsugaya – the monarch of this kingdom- was ailing. He'd been suffering from some cancer for months now and the doctors said that he was going to die soon. Hitsugaya didn't know how to deal with that. He didn't want to go to the stupid ball and he didn't want to have to choose a wife but his father had been the one that had requested that his son be married before his time came.

He wanted to sleep now. It was getting quite late; it took a while to get back to the palace from the field where he'd been at.

He ducked into his spare room when he was sure that nobody was about. This room was under lock and key. This was where he kept his private things. The clothes he'd been wearing before were stashed in here. He got changed quickly (he'd wash his dirty feet when he got to his own room), and, listening carefully at the door to make sure that it was deserted, he dashed out, locked the door and went on his way to his bedroom. He'd spend some time in that field tomorrow; it was greatly calming.

* * *

OK, I been at this story for about a week and a half now so I decided that it was finally time to put it up. I've been fussing over this endlessly so if anybody sees any major/minor mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know, K?

R&R


	2. Hanging Out With A Boy

OK, firstly, I would like to straighten out any misconceptions:

Since there is no such category in as 'fairy tale', I would just like to say that this story is _make-belief _because there are events and situations in here that are just _not_ believable. For example, I know for a fact that there is no way, in ancient times, that a girl would be seen with a boy unless they were, what, betrothed?

And, it's not that Hitsugaya don't want to be a noble, it's that he's sick of being put up on a pedestal. And I'm aware that the way things are in this story aren't exactly reminiscent of ancient times; Karin talks like a commoner when she's not a commoner (in fact, they all talk like commoners), the societies are different cuz I'm not sure if I had it in to make this an ancient Japanese society or a medieval English society or whatever. It's all make-belief so it is _not_ believable, it does not _have_ to be believable, I'm not trying to _make_ it believable. (I guess that was all aimed at the person who left me a rather hefty review :D...nice one Sniper!...) I hope I have cleared up any...believability issues

Oh, yeah, what does AU stand for? Does anybody know? Please lemme know, I'm still not entirely in with the jargon of this place.

Disclaimer: I don own Bleach

* * *

"Morning, Karin-chan." Hinamori said cheerily as she entered the kitchen. Karin grunted noncommittally and she continued to eat her cereal in silence. Hinamori looked at her strangely before she put some milk in for herself and went back out again, carrying the glass with her. Everybody else was allowed to have their breakfast wherever they wanted but Karin was to have hers in the kitchen. She slurped up the milk that remained in her bowl and went to wash it upon finishing.

Ichigo had her do some of the chores with the servants so she had those to be getting on with. After a good hour or so, she finished up cleaning and began to make her way to her room.

_What a boring life,_ she grumped as she continued on up the stairs. A door opened on the second floor and Ichigo stepped out of his bedroom. "Karin." He said icily. _Oh, here we go again_, Karin thought glumly. "What's this I hear about you swearing at Rukia? Didn't I tell you to show her some respect?"

She looked up at him flatly. "So?"

She could see that he was barely suppressing his rage. He got so angry whenever she "wronged" her sister-in-law. It was stupid. "Don't talk back to me." He said slowly, through gritted teeth.

"So what if I do?" She said defiantly.

"Remember your position, brat."

"Well I can't seem to do so. Would you mind telling me what it was?"

Ichigo bristled but he managed to hold his anger in check. "There will be serious consequences if I find out that you've been bullying Rukia."

Karin stared at him wide-eyed, "is that the lie she's been feeding you? That I'm bullying her? What about me, Ichi-nii? How about it's me who's being "bullied"? That bitch is the one makin my life a fuckin livin hell!"

He slapped her across the face, hard. She reeled from the blow and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She abruptly turned on her heel and thundered down the stairs, yelling "I hate you!" as she went. Ichigo stared after her, the anger draining out of his visage. He sighed deeply and ran both hands along his face and then over his orange hair. What had happened to this family? He would never believe for a second that it was his wife's fault.

* * *

Karin left the house angrily. He'd slapped her two days in a row now._ Asshole, I hate you_. She walked rigidly. She was going to go over to the field, it was quite a way away and the walk shoulder help her cool down some. Tears streamed down her eyes as she went, cursing her brother and his "bitchy" wife all the while.

When she got to the field, she'd calmed down quite a lot. She found that the boy from yesterday was there too. She wiped her eyes roughly and went over to him as he walked tirelessly from one end to the field to the other.

"Hey." She called, waving as she approached.

Hitsugaya turned around and gazed at her from beneath his cap. "Yo...Kuro...saki, right?"

She smiled a little as she stopped before him. "Yeah. What's your name?"

Hitsugaya paused. He hadn't had time to invent an alias, because he'd never really thought he'd be talking to people much. "Er...They call me Shirou." He was referring to was his mother and father. They'd always called him "Shirou-chan", ever since he was a baby. It was quite annoying but he never said as much; they were his parents after all, it would be extremely disrespectful to talk back to them.

Karin raised a dark eyebrow, "Shirou? Why do they call you that?"

He shrugged and continued walking.

"How come I've never seen you here before?" Karin asked, keeping pace with him.

He shrugged again.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

This time, there was no response at all. Karin sighed as they kept walking. "There's a very red mark on your cheek." He said after some time.

Karin gazed at him out of the corner of her eye suspiciously. She hadn't noticed him looking at all. "I'm aware of that." She replied.

"What happened?" He asked. Hitsugaya had always had a tendency to be inquisitive and it bothered him that he wanted this girl to talk to him but she wasn't.

"Nothin." She replied curtly. She wasn't exactly about to tell him of her encounter with her brother now, was she? She'd come to this field to think but this boy had already been here so it'd be rude to leave him be and then just go to the opposite end of the field, though she wanted ever so badly to do just that.

"Hmm..." He did that a lot. "So, what're you here for?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Very inquisitive, aren't you?"

This earned her a small grin. "Some would say that."

She noticed that, even though she couldn't see half of his face, his grin was...warm and pleasant. She smiled in response. "Why are you hiding your face?" She asked suddenly.

Predictably, he didn't answer.

"Have you got a secret identity?" She grinned at this.

He still didn't answer, just kept this head turned straight ahead.

"Do you think you're ugly?" She asked, leaning in conspiratorially.

"No." He replied.

"HAHA! Gotcha! You actually responded to that! You're so vain." She laughed.

A vein popped above the cap at this and he said irritably, "I am not vain!"

"Oh, yeah? Well you obviously pride yourself on your looks if you only answered in the negative when asked if you think you're ugly." She looked at him smugly, daring him to deny her claim.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose quizzically underneath the cap. He wouldn't say he was vain, but he wouldn't like for anybody to think of him as ugly either, but he wasn't overly bothered. He wouldn't go so far as to say he prided himself on his looks. "Not quite but close enough." One corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

She smiled in response. "Well, you can obviously give a straight answer; how come you don't talk much?"

"I'm a man of few words." He said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

She shook her head and playfully punched his arm. Hitsugaya was surprised; no one ever did anything like that back at the palace, but it was rather...nice, being chummy with this girl. "So, where are you from?" He asked.

She pointed in a general eastern direction. "Around there, bout a mile away. What bout you?"

"Around there." He pointed in the direction of north.

"Oh, you live near the castle?" She asked, surprised.

"Around there, yeah." He nodded.

"What's it like? Do you get to see the royal family much?" She wasn't really interested in the royal family, she'd just asked for the sake of making conversation.

"Not especially." He replied, uncomfortable.

"Yeah? So, are all the women up there hyped about the ball?"

Hitsugaya grew further uncomfortable. "I guess." The "women up there" were more than "hyped" about the ball; they were absolutely ecstatic. They wouldn't stop congratulating him or wishing him luck every time he walked by them. It was annoying. And on top of that, the older women wouldn't stop telling him to pick their daughters, and then they'd start having arguments between themselves about whose daughter was better and then insults were lobbed back and forth. He got ever so tired of calming such situations. But he usually left those jobs to his bodyguards. "Are the women down here?"

"Pfft! They won't stop talkin about it. It's so irritating." She said with a sigh.

"Tell me about it." He said in agreement. "So, how come you're not "hyped" about it?" He asked this out of genuine interest.

She shrugged. "It's not really my kinda thing. I have better stuff to do with my time than dance around with a guy who don't even know me. Or dance, period."

"Really? I thought all girls liked dance?" He said.

"A popular misconception." She grinned. "I'm a living anti-stereotype of girls, if there is such a term, so don't be surprised if I contradict all your beliefs on what a girl should be."

"Alright, so what do you think of the Prince? I hear all the girls are crazy about that guy." He heard it all right; the girls went ballistic when he was around, they sort of froze, stared at him for a few seconds and then started to squeal uncontrollably and then yelled out things like "Oji-sama, please marry me!" He thought it was rather degrading (for them, not him).

She shrugged again. "He's just a guy right? I mean, granted, he's good-looking an all but it's annoying when all the girls practically trip over their own feet when they see him." She sounded disgusted. She herself had only seen the young Prince a few times and it had never been up close. Her sister, Yuzu, was one of the ones who cheered the loudest when she saw the white haired boy. That had been before their father died, Karin didn't know if she still did that because she refused to go out into town with the rest of the family.

"Exactly, he's just a guy." Hitsugaya agreed. He liked this girl instantly; she really was different from all the maids at the palace, in that she had a streak of individuality in the way that she spoke and expressed her views. And, she accepted that the royal family was just made up of normal people. "Are you going to the ball?" He asked suddenly. He didn't know why he asked that, but it was rather obvious that she was from a wealthy family because the clothes she wore were of quality. The ball would be mildly interesting if she did turn up.

"Nah." She said offhandedly.

He stopped walking and looked at her back through the bottom of his cap. "How come?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him and replied blankly, "Like I said, I have neither the time nor the patience to dance with some guy who don't know me. And besides," she turned her attention back to the ground before her, "I'm, what, one in a million? There're women out there who're way better looking than me and way better suited to the role of being a royal's wife." But she turned to look at him once more and said with a grin, "I ain't wife material". She winked.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose high under his cap but he hurried after her. "I thought that was the main objective of all girls; to be good wives?" He asked as he caught up.

She snorted, "And which weirdo taught you that?" She asked.

"My mother." He replied. It was true; she'd told him many times to just concentrate on finding a good looking girl but he needn't worry about finding one who'd make a good wife because all girls strive to become good wives anyway.

"Well, that's a lie; I couldn't give two shits about bein a good wife." Karin said.

Hitsugaya was surprised; he hadn't really thought girls of the city talked like that. He'd thought they were nice and demure at all times. He berated himself on his naivety. This girl beside him was anything but "nice and demure". Like she'd said, she was "an anti-stereotype". "Don't disrespect my mother." He said coldly.

"Sorry." She said, not sounding sorry at all. Hitsugaya sighed quietly. They continued walking in silence, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Karin wondered if Ichigo was blowing a fit right about now. She hoped he was, and then when she got home (which would be purposely late), he'd shout at her and she would not lose her cool this time. She'd make him suffer for making her suffer. She had decided to try "the calm approach". How would they all like it if she appeared not to be fazed by their remarks? Before, she'd always lost her temper. Maybe that was a bad thing; maybe that left her more open to attacks. She had much to learn about verbal defence. The key was to keep her cool.

"Don't you have any friends to hang out with?" Hitsugaya asked after a while.

She looked up him with a frown. "No, people bore me."

He rose his eyebrow at that, but she couldn't see so he asked, "People bore you?" His tone was incredulous.

She turned back to face the front again and raised her hands up and interlocked them behind her head. "I dunno...I guess, they're just...really petty. I don't understand how they can possibly be so concerned by such pointless tasks." She looked thoughtfully up at the clear, blue sky. Ever since her father had died, everything had taken on an air of...emptiness. Nothing seemed important anymore. She would have said that she was happy until Isshin had died. Isshin had been like the centre of her Yuzu's world; they'd always beat him up (though, Karin more so) when he went off and did his far-fetched theatrics, he'd taught the two of them many important lessons (always accompanied by his stupid theatrics of course, always the stupid theatrics), and he'd given them whatever they'd wanted (which included a punch bag for Karin; he used to infuriate her so much). She smiled at the sudden tide of memories. After Isshin was gone from their lives, everything changed for the worst. Rukia came. Karin supposed that Rukia was one of the reasons why she saw everything as pointless. Rukia had taken away the three things that had meant something to her; her brother, her twin and her friends.

Once Rukia had spotted Karin playing with the peasants from the nearby village (her best and only friends), she went berserk and ranted on and on about how a respectable family does not mingle with the lower classes and how disgusting it would look in the eyes of society and plus, respectable girls should not, on any accounts, mix with boys. So Ichigo, the idiot, had banned her from seeing the kids of the village, her _friends_.

After that, Karin had retreated into herself. She hadn't had anyone to talk to; she didn't dare cry for fear of showing weakness amid a crowd of people who likes wolves, would pounce on that weakness as if it were a piece of meat and slowly shred her apart. She'd be alone forever, that was her fate. It had been sealed as soon as Rukia stepped into her home.

"People have nothing better to do with their time than plot the downfall of others." She mumbled. "That is what makes them so...immature and petty. Their lives are so small and, as individuals, they can do nothing, but then they manipulate the people around them so that they can use them to their own advantage, and all the while, they're just slowly annihilating their allies along with everybody else." She ground her teeth in frustration. When was Ichigo going to realise that he wasn't loved by Rukia? That she was just using him? When was he going to realise that there had been ulterior motives behind this marriage of theirs?

Hitsugaya watched, captivated, as Karin's facial expressions changed. That last bit had been quite profound, "annihilate" was a pretty strong word. She'd gone off on a slight tangent from what she'd originally stated; that humans were petty and boring. This girl was fascinating. He wondered what was on her mind. He wouldn't mind if she spoke out; something was obviously troubling her. "You want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

She turned to him, a little surprised. She'd momentarily forgotten that he was there. "Hmm? No...There's nothing to talk about. Ne, you wanna have a race? I haven't raced in ages." She set off, running as fast as she could. Hitsugaya stared after her, puzzled. He lifted his cap up a little so that he could see her better. Then, upon the removal of the cap from his eyes, he saw her properly for the first time, he saw her distinct features. She was quite tall (though he'd known that already, though not taller than him), with a slender build and long, dark hair. She was cute, though nothing special. More like a passing face one would expect to see in a crowd of people, easily forgotten if not distinguished. Well, _she_ was distinguished all right. He figured he'd have to get a cap that let him see better as he rushed after her, thinking, _why not? Just this once I'll have__ a__ race with one of the citizens_.

Karin laughed as they ran around, playing game after game of tag or racing. It had been a long time since Karin had had fun. Hitsugaya, who wasn't usually in the habit of fun and games, was surprised to find that he enjoyed the little activity. They were both bent over, hands on their knees as they panted for breath.

"You're pretty fast." Hitsugaya remarked, sometime later.

"Lemme guess, you thought girls couldn't run?" She asked dryly. "Newsflash: I'm a tag champ."

"Is that right?" He asked.

"You know, you must be feeling pretty hot under there. I don't get why you have to wear that cap." She said, reaching for the object in question.

Hitsugaya shied away from her touch. "I can't take it off." He said, almost coldly.

Karin took her hand back instantly, her face blank. What had she come here for? It certainly hadn't been to hang around with this strange boy. She'd come here to think. "I'm sorry. I have to go." She abruptly turned on her heel and started to walk away. Just who did she think she was? Just because somebody was being nice to her, for once, didn't mean that she could invade their privacy. And she hadn't come here to make friends anyway, so it was no business of hers why a strange boy wore a cap over half his face.

"Kurosaki..." Hitsugaya began. What had he done? All he'd said was he couldn't take the cap off and she said she was leaving._ What the hell? She must be extremely sensitive__ or something_. He thought. "Kurosaki." He said firmly. She turned a little at that. "You want to get some lunch?" He asked.

Karin frowned. He was asking if she wanted lunch, why? "What?" She said, turning around fully so that she was facing him.

"I said, do you want to get some lunch?" He asked again, repeating it more slowly.

"As in, a date?" Her frown deepened. She'd never been asked out before.

He shrugged. "Not really. Just lunch between friends, right?" He smiled a little.

Karin found herself smiling too. "Friends? Since when was I your friend?" She began to walk back to him.

"I don't know." He shrugged. He'd say she was a friend though. He'd never really had many friends. Everywhere he'd went when he was younger, his position as the Prince had always superseded him. He was not Toushirou Hitsugaya, he was the Prince. That was how the people saw him. But here, he had a chance at getting a friend, which would probably be his first. And above that, she was a girl! _Take that, etiquette!_ He yelled triumphantly into his mind. He then berated himself for being so childish. Sure, it was all fun to rebel against the system, but that little rebellion costs one dearly if one is going to have the welfare of a whole nation resting on one's shoulders. Custom and tradition often help if one is the Monarch-in-waiting.

"Ne, Shirou-kun, what happened to your arm?" Karin asked.

"Hn?" Hitsugaya looked down to where she was looking and saw the scar on his bare biceps. "Oh, accident, a few years ago." It was actually from a sword wound that had been inflicted upon him by his teacher at the time. He'd been cut badly. The teacher had vehemently opposed the use of real blades but Hitsugaya ordered him to have a proper fight with him. He had let his guard down for one second and the next thing he'd known; his arm was spewing a copious amount of blood. The teacher had been threatened with execution by his mother, who had been extremely enraged that her little boy had been harmed. Hitsugaya, much to the teacher's relief, had intervened and said that it was fine. His mother, grudgingly, had finally accepted that he wasn't going to be dying right there so she'd settled for firing the teacher. Hitsugaya had been glad they used real blades, because that had felt like his first _real_ experience. Everywhere he went, his mother would fret endlessly about his comfort and safety and it drove him insane. Couldn't she just leave him alone and let him _live_? He'd felt that, every time he was around his parents, nothing was real, that everything was all set up because no spontaneity was allowed in the life of royals. Having a blade wedged in his flesh was probably the closest he ever got to a _real_ experience, aside from these excursions as a peasant boy of course, and now, this girl who was his friend. "A fight." He smiled.

Karin looked at him strangely. Why was he smiling if he'd been in a fight? The scar looked like it'd have been painful, even if it had been inflicted years ago. "Whatever you say." She mumbled.

"Shall we go?" Hitsugaya indicated the path they were walking on with a flourish. Karin rolled her eyes and continued walking.

* * *

Lemme know what you think! (about my writing style that is :D)

R&R


	3. Troubles

Hey everybody! Thanks for reviewing and thank yoou for settin me straight about the jargon of this site (AUAlternate Universe, got it!) So on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don own Bleach (still broke as fuck :(

* * *

The two got strange looks from everyone as they walked into town. Most of the odd looks were directed at Karin, due to her "decent" clothes (though not too decent; she didn't get any new clothes, she just got the ones that Yuzu didn't want anymore). They wondered what a well-dressed young lady was doing with a scamp. Hitsugaya thought it was quite ironic because whoever he chose to hang out with was usually frowned up by the court. _Idiots, always taking everything at face value._ He thought. Even the peasants, who often came into town to purchase items that they needed or sell some of their own merchandise, frowned too; what was one of their kind doing with someone like _that_? _Just how far have they been convinced that peasants shouldn't be seen with "respectable" people?_ He scoffed to himself. A whole lot of unity was going to be called into action after he ascended the throne. How could his father's country call itself a nation if it was split right down the middle? The lower classes did the work for the upper classes and the upper classes repaid them with meagre wages and dirty looks. This society wouldn't even be a quarter of what it was had there not been any lower classes. His people sometimes disgusted him. His lip was actually curled in revulsion. Just how can people be so selfish? Even his own parents; they'd invited females of the upper classes to the ball, workers weren't allowed. Hitsugaya would gladly marry a commoner if it destroyed all the ideas that these people had about "respectability". He was beginning to hate that word. Respectability. He wanted to do something, right here, right now, to show these people just how meaningless their "respectability" was to some.

"Hey, you OK?" Karin asked, gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't get time to react as Hitsugaya grasped her arm and pulled her towards him and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened, as did those of everybody within sight. A scamp kissing a girl from a middle class family, why that was just out of order!

"Who is that girl?"

"Does her family have any idea what she'd doing?"

"Ah, tis absolutely horrific!"

"That peasant! The girl's family will not be pleased to hear about this!"

"Truly upsetting!"

"Isn't that Karin Kurosaki? Daughter of the late Isshin Kurosaki?"

"In that case, her family shall be informed of this development!"

Had they known that "the scamp" was actually the Prince, they would have reacted _very_ differently. Hitsugaya pulled away from Karin and, taking her hand, began to run back the way they'd come. The shoppers all shifted out of the way as if the two young ones were a malignant disease. Karin was slightly dazed but she was angry too. She ripped her hand out of Hitsugaya's grasp when they were running down an empty cobbled street.

"What the hell was that?" She asked crossly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I just..." Hitsugaya began.

"Save it! What the fuck did you think you were doing!?" She yelled. "You can't just go around and kiss random people!"

"You're not random!" He said. "Look, it's just...those people...making judgements about us just walking together...it was quite annoying..." He trailed off.

Karin's gazed softened. Momentarily. "So? You just thought you'd aggravate them a little more by kissing me?" She asked, incredulous.

"Try to understand my position here..." He said, "Or are you one of them too, the snotty types that think commoners should bow before them? I had thought you were different; please correct me if I'm wrong." He set his teeth hard and his lips formed a straight line.

Her gaze softened again and this time it stayed that way. "I get where you're coming from...But you're hardly a commoner, are you? Why are you so bothered?" She looked meaningfully at him as she spoke the last.

His head whipped up at that and had his eyes been uncovered, he'd have gazed at her in surprise. "W-What do you mean?"

"Oh come on! You're trying to pass yourself off as a peasant but you're not doing a very thorough job of it. Your speech is too proper, you're too graceful, and you seem too surprised by the mundane things in life, and, by the way, you feet – yes, your feet," She flushed a little; she had been that thoroughly in her examination of him, "look too...I dunno..._smooth_ to be those of someone who tends the fields all day. Who are you?" She asked the last softly.

Hitsugaya was taken aback. She was more observant than he'd given her credit for. He cursed his luck. Of all the people he could have bumped into, it was this underprivileged middle-class girl with a jaded view on life and who was more vigilant than he was. _Great_, he thought,_ what do I say now_? He didn't reply for a time, just continued thinking.

Karin thought he wasn't going to say anything. She sighed deeply and made to walk away but he spoke up, sounding indecisive, "If it really matters, only if it really matters though, meet me in the field in two days, after lunch and I'll tell you." He turned around abruptly and ran. He had figured that if this girl was really as unconcerned with the young Prince's status, then he'd try and trust her with his secret, but he'd ask her some questions too; this girl _was_ intriguing, after all.

Karin thought about calling after him but decided against it. She watched him go with a heavy heart; her first friend in months and she'd already lost him. Come to think of it, why did it bother her so? She'd only seen him twice now but she felt as if she'd known him for ages (even though she didn't know what half of his face looked like). She felt as if she could open up to him, but she wouldn't. She didn't open up to anyone, not anymore.

She hung about in town for a while (receiving glares from odd people) and then headed back home.

* * *

"You fuckin little bitch!"

Karin shrank back, up against the wall as her brother towered over her. Her face was carefully blank, upon remembrance of her earlier plan on using "the calm approach". She'd just gotten in through the doorway three seconds ago and her brother had thundered out of one of the rooms and towards her, yelling all the while.

"What the fuck's this I hear about you kissing some dirty little rat?!" Ichigo continued. His face was twisted in fury. This was truly something that made his blood boil. "Do you not care for the honour of this family? Do you really hate us all that much that you'd kiss a...a peasant in public, in front of so many people!?"

"Does it really matter that much who I interact with?" She shot back, having failed at keeping her cool. "Does it?! What do you care about me anyway? Oh wait, you don't! You only care for the stupid honour of the stupid family and your stupid fuckin bitch of a wi...!"

_Slap!_

Karin was cut off as Ichigo's hand connected with her cheek for the second time that day.

"Shut up and get the fuck out." Ichigo's head was bowed and he was shaking with anger. "GET THE FUCK OUT!" He shouted.

"FINE!" She replied, the tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "FINE! I'M Go...I'm going..." Her voice cracked at the last and a sob broke out past her tightly pressed lips. She pushed past her brother, who was still seething, and exited the manor. Servants who were milling about ran past her and stared as she walked past, tears streaming down her cheeks (one of which was exceptionally red). Wracking sobs shook her frame but no one came to comfort her. She trudged down the path, feeling more lonely than she'd ever felt.

From the window, Ichigo looked on. The anger was still there, but he wasn't absolutely seething now. It had lessened to a mere scowl. He felt he had been too harsh. It was just a kiss, after all. Rukia was the one who had told him to sort his sister out and, on her command, he'd let his anger get the better of him. _Baka, Ichigo_, he scolded. But he didn't go after his sister.

_"Ne, Ichi-nii, let's go faster!" Karin cried happily._

_"You got it, kid!" Ichigo grinned goofily up at his younger sister and ran faster while Karin laughed joyously._

_"Onii-chan!__ I want a turn!" Yuzu cried__ sadly_

_"Don't worry, Yuzu-chan, daddy will give you a better ride!" Isshin Kurosaki said as he lifted his light-haired daughter onto his shoulder and began running, making various noises as he went. Yuzu laughed delightfully._

_"We're way better!" Karin cried as she stuck her tongue out. Ichigo grinned widely and further inc__reased his pace. Karin laughed again_

_Damn it, this hurts_, Ichigo thought, thinking back to that time. He'd been ten years old then and all he'd wanted was to help his family as much as he could and he'd done that by being the ideal older brother. He'd listened to every trouble that his sisters had had and he'd tried to help them and it had warmed him immensely to hear them laugh. Slowly, slowly, the hole in his heart that had been caused by his mother's death was healing, with _their_ happiness. Yuzu and Karin. The two people who should mean the world to him but didn't._ What's happening to me_? He wondered. He'd never hit Yuzu once but, when they were younger, shortly after Masaki's, his mother's death, he'd hit Karin and he'd been indescribably sorry for it. She'd just been a little girl with no knowledge of how deep his wounds had been. She'd been pestering him to stop sitting by the river all the time, to "come home, please, please, please, please come home, Ichi-nii, please" and, out of annoyance, he'd smacked her on the head. She'd run off home, trying to be brave and hold the tears in but they'd come gushing out anyway. He'd called after her to say that he was sorry, but she'd gone off without him.

And now? He tried to keep his hands locked by his side every time she made her little smart-ass rebukes, but sometimes, he just got so mad. Rukia said it was the only way to teach the girl her place, and he listened to her. He'd slapped his sister twice today, that was a record and he felt ashamed of himself. He'd hit a little, sixteen-year-old girl who had nothing going for her except this new guy that she'd kissed and he'd yelled at her for it. The old Ichigo wouldn't have cared that she'd been kissing a peasant; the old Ichigo would only have been concerned about whether this guy was making his sister happy or not.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but that really is the only way she'll learn."

Ichigo turned around at the sound of his wife's voice and smiled grimly. "I know."

Rukia wrapped her arms about his shoulders and, standing on tiptoes, she reached up and kissed his on the lips. Ichigo wound his arms about her waist and held her tight. Unbeknownst to the orange haired man, a little burst of electricity suddenly flared about them. Rukia smirked.

"She'll be fine." She said in a voice that carried persuasion. "It's for her own good."

Ichigo nodded. "For her own good." He repeated blankly.

Had Karin been listening, she would have said that Rukia's innocent tone was completely fake.

* * *

Hitsugaya walked back to the palace thoroughly ashamed of himself. He went to his storeroom and got changed and then made his way to his bedroom.

What he'd done today had been foolish and it was liable to get Kurosaki into trouble. He could get away scot-free because the "scamp" wasn't real, but what if he caused grief for Kurosaki? From what he'd gathered, she already had family problems. Had he added to those problems? What was she doing now? He hoped she was OK. If only he'd kept his thoughts to himself. But the need to break away from people's (or more specifically, the higher class's) expectations had been too strong. He'd felt like he'd do anything, _anything_, to get some reactions out of those people.

And Kurosaki was right; why was he bothered? He wasn't a commoner. _That's simple_, he said, looking up at his bedroom ceiling,_ to break out of the norm_. But for which side? His "scamp" side or his "royal" side? Had he really wanted to prove to those people that commoners are people too, or prove to himself that he, a Prince with a seemingly "non-real" life, could actually have real experiences?

He grabbed a pillow from under his head and pulled it onto his face and yelled into it, "FUCK!" as loudly as he could. Apparently, expletives weren't to be used by someone of his status so he had to be careful to not let his mother or any of the staff of this place hear him using such language. It wasn't proper.

"Forget this, I'm off out." He said to himself. He got off his bed and exited. Outside, in the hallway, he saw his mother coming towards him. "Okaa-sama." He bowed as she approached.

"Toushirou, where were you?" She asked worriedly, "I haven't seen you since breakfast."

"I wasn't out that long, Okaa-sama." He said blankly.

She grew stern suddenly, "You went off on your own without telling anyone; that worries me Toushirou. The ball is in three days, do you not realise that? We have to get everything ready and your outfit has to be made."

"Please, can't I just wear something that I already have? It's not like I've worn every single outfit that I own." He argued wearily.

"Toushirou, you will not argue with your mother." His mother said sharply. "We're going to get you a new outfit for the ball and that is final. Now, go to your father's room. He wished to see you." She began to push him along.

"Why?" Hitsugaya asked.

"He's your father; he doesn't need a reason to want to speak to you." She replied irritably.

Hitsugaya sighed._ So much for going out_, he thought.

* * *

Karin walked through the streets, keeping to the shadows. She didn't want to be seen by anybody, mostly because she was supposed to be hardy and there were enormous tears running down her cheeks. And one cheek was smarting like hell. That was the second time today and on the same place too. _Asshole, Ichigo_, she thought angrily. Well, it looked like she wasn't going to be going back home, not that she'd call it home. It was just "the place where I live at". All traces of it being her home had disappeared when Rukia's cousin had moved into her room and she'd been kicked out.

_Stupid fuckin Hinamori and stupid fuckin Rukia, taking over our lives and taking Ichi-nii from us_. She thought angrily. She had no doubt that her being kicked out of the house had something to do with Rukia; almost everything had somehow cancelled her out somehow always involved Rukia. She knew Rukia didn't like her, had never liked her. Karin almost didn't blame her; if she were somebody else, she'd hate herself too. Karin Kurosaki.

_Just what have I got in my life that's worth living for right now?_ She thought. _I'm an emotional bomb, just waiting for the right moment to blow up, my brother isn't even his own person, my sister-in-law is an evil witch/bitch, her cousin basically can't stand that I have anything that indicates that I have a personal life at all, my father's dead, my twin sister is being corrupted by the evil sister-in-law, I have no friends whatsoever and my first kiss was stolen by a boy who covers half his face and who wanted to make a point that peasants are people too. It's all good; I'm just up there in cloud nine, ain't I?_ She thought dryly. _Hey, God, how about sending a little shower down here, I mean, it's not like the storm's shredded my world apart enough. No, I think I have the most stubborn will to hang on so why don't ya send some lightning down here or something? Maybe I'll get hit and die. Wouldn't that be just great_?

She thought back to Shirou. For him to willingly do something like that was pretty gutsy. If he'd been someone else, she wouldn't have thought twice before she broke his teeth. But this guy was...mysterious. He was an enigma.

_He stole my first kiss, there's nothing mysterious about that,_ she thought bitterly. Not that she was overly bothered. First kisses meant little to Karin, but it was _a little_ regrettable. It wasn't like any guy would kiss her anyway; she'd make sure of that. But why had he chosen to kiss her, of all people? He should have just snagged a random girl off the streets, that would have been much more effective. But then again, maybe it was her because everybody thought they were an item or something back there. _An item_? She thought incredulously, she would never be "an item".

But, some idiotic part of her was quietly pining for the feel of the boy's lips again.

She shook her head to clear the thought before it could manifest into something more. She didn't want a relationship with anybody anyway, all that that would bring would be pain and more emotional agony and she was already unstable.

_Tick tock tick tock..._It was like the whirring of the gears that made up the emotional bomb that she was were already ticking away, counting down until the last stroke, until the last revelation that would complete annihilate her.

_Tick tock tick tock..._What was time anyway? Some said that it was a healer but Karin didn't think so. Time was just a ticking mechanism that ceaselessly beat away at the continuity of a time or place or person. Time was an annihilator. Time was a destroyer. Time gave people what they wanted for a short period and then cruelly snatched it away from them.

Oh, wait, that was fate.

Fate gave people what they wanted for a short period of _time_ and then cruelly snatched it away from them. Time and fate. Neither of which were on her side, but then again, hardly anything was on her side nowadays. It was her against the world. She smirked at the idea. _It's me against the world_.

Oh but how...nice it would be to have someone on her side for a change, to have someone backing her up.

_Not going to happen_, she sighed. She was approaching the field now. She sighed again and hurried her pace. She was going to be sleeping in among the trees today. She'd always wondered what that would be like._ Well, I guess it's__ time to find out_. She thought.

* * *

Review! Please...?


	4. Rendevous

OK, this is a very inaccurate account of what a medeival English/ancient Japanese society would be like, for example, they woudl have spoken like they do in this story :D

But, I don't know if I've said this before, but this is a nowhere society, meaning there's no fixed time or place in accordance with the real world and real history.

Thanks for reading, and please be so kind as to tell me what you think of this story.

* * *

Karin was extremely hungry. She'd been kicked out of the house for a day now and she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast yesterday. That was about twenty-nine hours ago. She hadn't left the field either, not knowing where else to go.

She had hoped that Shirou would turn up, more out of the need to see a (half) familiar face. She'd spent all yesterday and night thinking about him, not having much else to do (thinking about "home" and Ichigo and Rukia was _not_ an option). She'd watched the sunset sitting on the same tree where she'd first watched it with that guy. She didn't know why but, just like that, she was wishing that he was well and that he was all right and that he'd come. He was such a strange character. He was a rich kid but he acted like a peasant and he rooted for the peasants too. Karin liked that about him. He was strong willed. Hell, he was strong, or at least he looked it. What kind of sports was he into? What sort of training did he do to get such a...lithe form? He was good at tag and he was pretty fast too.

She'd never admit to such a thing, but she was infatuated by him. In the space of a day, she'd become more and more interested in him. Why did he wear that cap? She'd asked him that a good few times but he'd refused to answer. She wondered if he had some sort of skin condition or something. Maybe he'd had hair before but it had all fallen out and he was bald and he didn't want anybody to see his naked, shiny head. Or maybe girls were so smitten whenever they saw him that he'd taken to covering up his best features so that they'd all leave him alone. She grinned at that._ Maybe, maybe, maybe, So, Shirou-kun, just who are you_?

* * *

Hitsugaya stifled a yawn as he stood up straight, getting his measurements taken for an outfit for the ball. How many times must his mother make him go through with this? He wanted to go out, to enjoy the fresh air instead of being cooped up in the palace all day. This was so boring. He watched with a blank gaze as Chikako Hitsugaya talked incessantly with the tailor.

His mother was quite a motor-mouth; sometimes it annoyed him to no end to hear her go on and on and on. He took mostly after his father; quiet, reserved, and proud, though not arrogant. Kaito Hitsugaya was quite arrogant while his son had a quiet sense of honour and dignity in everything that he did.

The young Hitsugaya would never say anything bad about his family because, even though he was against most of their customs, he didn't want to injure their pride. Pride had deep, firm roots in this household; to slight another's pride, especially one's own mother or father, was a grave offense (not in the literal sense, but people began to disrespect you if you put a blight upon the monarch's family's "pride").

Hitsugaya supposed "pride" was another of those words that he hated, like "respectability". It had very close ties with the higher classes because they thought that scum of the lower classes do not have any sense of self-importance within them. Hitsugaya hated that about the upper classes. He hated a lot of things about the upper classes.

As the tailor fussed over him once more, Hitsugaya's thoughts returned to Kurosaki. What was she doing now? Would she be out in the field today? He hoped she'd be there tomorrow and he really hoped that he had said the right thing. Could he trust her though? She seemed honest enough. Maybe he should go as himself instead of the peasant boy. But then she'd be at a disadvantage because she probably wouldn't be able to seek an audience with him because the females in town, upon catching sight of him, wouldn't leave him alone.

It was irritating, and that was why he liked this Kurosaki girl. She was a good friend, she was of the middle class but she wasn't snobbish and she really didn't hold much regard for people in general. If she was there tomorrow, he was going to ask her about that.

"Oji-sama. Oji-sama?"

Hitsugaya whipped his head around at fixed the tailor with a blank stare. "Yes?" He said.

"Your mother said you're free to leave now." The tailor bowed low as Hitsugaya pushed past him, out of the room. _Finally, a break_.

As he walked out, deep in thought, he passed by many servants and maids. They all bowed low as he went. _Welcome to __'A day in the life__ of Toushirou Hitsugaya__'_, he thought dryly.

He was making his way towards his storeroom but the corridor was swarming with servants. He groaned to himself. The ball wasn't far away now; the palace was busier than ever. He decided that he'd go as he was (with his bodyguards, unfortunately. His mother wouldn't let him out of the house without at least one burly man flanking him). He might give the field a miss for today. For now, he'd just be content with fresh air.

* * *

The bodyguard was irritating. Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as the big man went on and on about any random topic. First it was Hitsugaya's health.

"How are you today, Oji-sama?"

The second topic was the weather.

"Pretty cold, eh, Oji-sama?"

And the third topic was some maid that had gone by.

"Whoa, check out the booty on that babe!"

A vein popped in Hitsugaya's temple. "Watch your language." He muttered irately. He really didn't like that sort of language; it was so...suggestive and _dirty_.

"Right, right. Sorry." The big man said, not sounding sorry in the least. He then went on to commenting on the upcoming ball and whatnot. Hitsugaya ignored him as he went on and on.

* * *

Karin rushed through the streets, keeping her eyes peeled. She was only there because she'd grown bored of the field for the time being and had decided to go exploring, in the hopes of finding some food. She was walking along a quiet street and not many people were about when she heard a sudden racket. It sounded like a whole bunch of women were shouting "Oji-sama!" all at once. She scoffed to herself and continued along the street. She rounded the corner as the racket continued to build and bumped into someone. She stumbled back a little and began, "Hey, watch it...!" She straightened up, looked to the person she had bumped into and trailed off. Prince Toushirou Hitsugaya's blue-green eyes were staring back at her and his expression was a little more than surprised.

"Hey, why don't you watch it, brat?" The big burly bodyguard stood in front of Hitsugaya and cracked his knuckles threateningly.

Hitsugaya sighed in annoyance and put a hand on the bodyguard's shoulder and thrust his head quickly, indicating that the bodyguard should drop back. The bodyguard stared indecisively between Hitsugaya and the girl and finally fell back. "Are you OK?" Hitsugaya asked Karin. Karin's eyes widened considerably. _That voice!_ She thought.But no, it was just a coincidence. Without another word, she bowed and muttered, "My apologies, Oji-sama."

Hitsugaya frowned at the girl before him. He wished she'd stand up straight already. "S'ok." He replied casually. Karin straightened up and looked at him strangely. She then turned on her heel and abruptly began to walk back the way she'd come. There were shouts of disapproval as the other females who had been following the young Prince commented on the rudeness of Karin's departure. The Prince had spoken to her and she should be grateful because he hardly ever spoke to anyone. He'd shocked them too with his "familiar" tone. The bodyguard looked on with a frown as the young girl departed and then shifted his gaze back to the Prince. "Let's go." Hitsugaya said blankly.

_

* * *

The voice is uncanny_! Karin thought._ Shirou_! But surely not! Her friend, Shirou, couldn't be the Prince. No way! The Prince wouldn't have any reason to dress up as a peasant. The very idea was absurd! Sure, Shirou was unlike any peasant, but he was probably just some rich boy from an upper-middle class family. And it must be one hell of an upper-middle class family too. She wondered what had made her friend dress up as a peasant and seek out a solitary field. 

And upon thinking such thoughts, she got sidetracked from questioning whether her friend with the cap could possibly be the Prince Toushirou Hitsugaya. She wouldn't believe it anyway, not until she'd meet with him tomorrow.

Her stomach grumbled loudly, breaking her out of her thoughts. _Damn, I still need to get something to eat_, she thought sadly. What now? _Search for food_, she answered grimly, clutching her stomach. Over the course of the day, she'd find some berries around the field and a stream some ways off. That would satisfy her hunger. Temporarily.

* * *

The following day, when the rest of the house staff was busy with lunch so the corridors of the palace would practically be empty, Hitsugaya, upon completion of his own midday meal, dashed to his storeroom (after explaining to his mother that he was taking a walk in the palace gardens), got changed and rushed out of the house. He had to be a lot more cautious nowadays because the place was swarming with people, no doubt due to the upcoming ball. He silently groaned to himself in resignation at every mention "of that damn event".

He was going to meet with Kurosaki now. He hoped that she'd turn up. He flitted easily through the streets, unnoticed because of who he appeared to be. _People are so gulli__ble_, he thought to himself as he smirked.

When he got to their designated meeting place, he realised that Kurosaki still wasn't there. _Guess I might as well think about what I'm going to say_, he thought. He lay down on the ground with his hands behind his head.

Did he really want to tell her? She seemed trustworthy so, why not? How would she react if she knew who he was? She really didn't seem all that concerned when she'd run into him yesterday, into his _real_ self. Maybe she really didn't care that the Prince _was_ a prince. But then, maybe she would care. Maybe, if she knew, they wouldn't get to play tag anymore. He'd had fun when they'd played the other day. Maybe she really was like all the other girls, maybe she'd start squealing like the rest of them and then go and tell all her friends.

_But she doesn't have any friends_, he speculated, _if she had friends, she wouldn't be hanging about here all the time_. He sighed indecisively.

After about a minute, he heard the sound of shuffling footsteps and tilted his head back so that he could peek out from his cap. Kurosaki was walking towards him and she didn't look so good. Her hair was haggard and he was pretty sure that the kimono she was wearing had been the same one she'd been wearing the day before last. It was dirty too, and it sort of...hung off of her. Her eyes had bags under them and her gait was shaky. He immediately stood up and went over to her, just as she stumbled and fell. He instinctively reached out for her and she landed in his arms.

"Ah, Shirou-kun..." She mumbled as she looked up at him with eyes that were glazed over.

"What the hell happened, Kurosaki?" He asked, bewildered.

"...So...hungry..." She muttered. Her eyes closed and she passed out. Hitsugaya shook her a little, to get her to wake up, but she didn't move.

"Damn it." He muttered, picking her up and carrying her to a less open space. He looked down at her, wondering what the hell had happened. _Wait, same kimono, same hairdo, dirt on her dress, circles indicating sleep loss beneath the eyes_...He thought with a sinking feeling. Had she been like this since the day before? Hadn't she been home at all? What if...What if something had happened within her home and she'd had to leave? Was this his fault? "Damn it, you really screwed up..." He said to himself. What was he to do now? _Find her some food_, he answered. He propped her up against a tree and, after hesitating a moment, he ran off.

* * *

I don't think that was as long as the others but if so, the next one's the same size (I think).

Review!!!


	5. The Prince Revealed!

Sprry, this one's a little shorter than usual too, but only by a little. Enjoy!

* * *

When Karin woke, the first thing she felt was an incredible ache spreading all over her body and her stomach grumbling like mad. The next thing she noticed, after opening her eyes, was that the sky was getting dimmer. She then noticed that the person beside her was shifting around. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes and looked closely.

"Hey, Kurosaki." Hitsugaya said. Evidently, he'd just pulled his cap back on because stray strands of hair were sticking out from underneath the edges. _Wow, he really does have hair_. She thought dazedly. How strange. She'd never tried to picture him with hair before. She couldn't see what colour it was in the dullness of the early evening though. She groaned in pain as she tried to sit up. "Whoa, hold on. You need to eat something first." The boy said, pushing her back down. He reached over to his side and grasped an apple from the small stack of food that lay by his side. He held it out to her and she gazed at it blankly. "It's an apple, you eat it." He said dryly, but his tone was only patronising because he was trying to cover up the concern he felt. He pushed it at her mouth and she weakly tried to bite it but failed. She had no strength at all. "Now what?" Hitsugaya asked. He looked to the foodstuffs that he'd brought. The only soft items there were a banana and a small chunk of bread, with cheese. He wasn't sure if he should feed her the banana or the bread, but bread could be grating on the throat at times so he picked up the banana and peeled it. He then broke off a bit at the top and, after squishing it, held it out to her. She accepted it and chewed. He kept feeding her until he finished the whole banana and then lifted her head up and gave her some water.

"Thank you." She rasped. She didn't feel a whole lot better but it was a start. She looked to him in the darkening light and reached a hand out. Hitsugaya knew what she was going to do but he didn't stop her. She actually stopped herself. Her fingers grazed at the fabric of the cap and then her arm fell. She smiled a little and pulled her hand to her side. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He said softly. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I can't." She replied.

"Why not?"

"Everything hurts."

"That's because you were low on energy and you still moved around. You should have sat in one place; you could have reserved more energy that way." He explained seriously.

"I'm not exactly one to take anything sitting down." She said weakly, attempting a grin. She succeeded marginally.

He sighed and shifted a little. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

She seemed surprised at that. "What for?"

"For putting you through this. It's my fault you are the way you are now."

She shook her head and placed a hand upon his, surprising him a little. "It's OK. Don't you have a home to go to? It's getting pretty late."

"I'll stay with you, if that's OK." He replied, putting his other hand over hers briefly. His mother would have a fit when she'd find out that he wasn't at the palace, when he didn't come in for dinner or breakfast the following morning.

"You don't have to."

"It's OK, I want to."

"Why?"

He didn't reply for a time, until Karin thought he wasn't going to answer. "I've wronged you." He turned his face towards her.

Karin put her hands on the cool earth and, with much strain and protest (from Hitsugaya) she sat up and propped her back against the tree. She looked at Hitsugaya's face, where his eyes would be and said, "You haven't wronged me."

Hitsugaya found himself leaning towards her and his breathing quickened a little. What was he doing? It was almost as if he was going to... No, he wouldn't do that again. Instead, he pulled the cap off his head.

Karin stared with wide eyes, dumbstruck and then made to bow (a little awkwardly, in her current position). She had suspected that _her_ Shirou _could_ be the Prince, but she had thought she was just being silly, after all, what reason would _the_ Prince Hitsugaya have for being dressed as a peasant? "Please don't." Hitsugaya said softly, grasping her shoulders and setting her straight. She continued to stare at him in shock, still speechless. Prince Hitsugaya had...touched her. Hitsugaya sighed sadly and said, "Does this...status really change my value as a human being, Kurosaki?"

Karin's own words came back to her.

_He's just a guy_.

"N-No..." She mumbled, turning her head to look down, but he grasped her chin and gently turned it so that she was facing him again. His aqua gaze held hers steadily, daring her to look away. She didn't.

_He's just a guy_. She thought._ He really is just a guy. All__ he'd been trying to do wa__s __be__ treated normally. He's just a guy_.

All the time, she'd thought that she was different from the other girls because she didn't start screaming like crazy every time a cute guy came across her path. She could appraise someone's looks as much as the next person, but she'd always prided herself on her ability to be different, to keep her opinions to herself. She wasn't different. She had a crush on a guy who turned out to be the Prince, like every other pathetic girl out there who fell over her own feet in order to get a better look at him if he so happened to be about.

But, what about Shirou? She'd fallen for Shirou, not this Prince. But this Prince _was_ Shirou, and she felt as if she knew Shirou inside out, or at least an important part of him, because she'd known what he'd felt like.

But there _could_ be another angle to this; the boy she'd grown to like did not exist.

Her gaze softened. No, she didn't believe that. The boy she liked was just one part of a whole entity. Shirou was like the part of Hitsugaya that wanted to _live_not to merely exist in a state of obedience.

"No, it doesn't," she said firmly, "Shirou-kun."

Hitsugaya smiled a little at her words. He was beginning to _really_ like this girl.

"You should go. They'll probably be looking for you," She pointed in the direction of the palace, "up there."

"I don't want to leave." He said stubbornly.

A dark eyebrow rose. "I don't want you to get into trouble on my account, Oji-sama."

"Please call me Toushirou." He said seriously. "Are you coming to the ball?" He asked suddenly, changing the topic.

"Eh?" Karin looked at him in surprise. She averted her gaze and said softly, "no."

"Is that because you have better things to do with your time than dance with a guy "who don't know you"?" He asked, green-blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Who knows?" She said. Before, she'd not wanted to go because she had no interest in the Prince, but he was Shirou, the guy she was slowly but surely developing strong feelings for. Before, she'd been completely unconcerned, but now she had been kicked out of the house so she had nowhere to go to get a suitable dress. And, she didn't want to dance. She hated the idea of dancing. She wasn't going to pull a Cinderella and make herself up in finery and whatnot either. Things like fairy Godmothers just did not happen.

"Please come." He whispered.

She turned a slightly wide-eyed gaze on him. "Why?"

"Because." He answered vaguely.

"Because…?"

"I don't know. I guess...I'd appreciate it if you came. All the other girls are so..._too_ enthusiastic." He shrugged.

"Have you seen the state I'm in?" She asked, indicating her ruined kimono, where she'd fallen into a patch of barely dried mud the previous evening. And she had a little dirt upon her face and arms.

"It doesn't matter." He said quietly. "I'll have someone come to seek you out, to get you dressed up. Please?" He looked at her in what could have been seen as a beseeching expression. "Spare me the torment of dancing with all those other women when I know I'm not going to be marrying any of them."

"Well, it's not like you're going to be marrying _me_." She scoffed.

"_Well_, I'd rather get married to someone who can relate to the way I see things than someone who can't even begin to comprehend the _real_ me." He sighed and looked off into the distance.

Karin's heart skipped a beat and she flushed a little. Would he really marry her instead of all those other girls? Just because she could "relate"? "But you wouldn't be happy, would you?" She asked softly.

He smiled grimly, "Royals hardly ever get married out of happiness. Marriage is an obligation. Love is not something that truly matters in the politics of running a nation. There's nothing wrong with being in love with the person you have to marry, I mean, I'd say my parents love one another, even though they didn't even know each other before they were married." He shrugged and looked away. Karin had the distinct impression that he rarely talked quite as much as that. "Apparently, I have to have someone at my side when I rise to the throne and that doesn't look too far away because father's health is deteriorating and the doctors say that he only has a few months, at most." Karin saw him turn his head away sharply at the last and he ran the back of his hand over his eyes. His tone had been bitter. Her gaze softened.

"I'm sorry." She muttered. When he turned back to her, his expression was carefully blank and he shrugged. He didn't often let on to other people (or even himself, for that matter) when he was upset. He kept everything bottled in.

"Please come tonight." He said quietly. "I know this sounds really strange, me begging you to come to the ball when you have no interest in doing so, but I'd really appreciate it. I've been to a similar ball before. The girls I had to dance with drove me _insane_."

Karin stared at him with one brow raised above the other. Did he really want her to come? Did the prospect of dancing with the other girls really seem _that_ dull? "Really?" She asked softly. He nodded. She sighed deeply. "But I told you I don't do dance."

"For my sake? Besides, where are you going to be spending your night?" He asked.

_…For his sake…_She thought indecisively. She sighed deeply and said, "Alright, since I'm stuck out here anyway."

Hitsugaya smiled a little. "Thank you." Silence prevailed for a few minutes as the two looked off into the horizon.

Hitsugaya broke the silence and asked, "So, what did your father say, the other day, when you got home? He must have been quite mad to kick you out of the house."

Karin lowered her gaze and stared intently at the ground as she said, "I don't have a father. My brother kicked me out."

He seemed a little surprised but quickly covered it up. "I'm sorry." He said, trying to sound sincere.

She shrugged as if it were no big deal and ignored the bit about her father completely. "Truth be told, I prefer living outside than at that horrible place, anyway. Ichi-nii has a really stupid, evil wife. It was bound to happen sooner or later." Her brows furrowed irritably.

"Eh?" Hitsugaya frowned quizzically. Karin briefly outlined her family history, starting from her father's death a few months prior. She explained it all in a strangely flat tone. Hitsugaya paid close attention.

"Rukia-nee." Karin said bitterly as she finished.

"Shouldn't you do something about this?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I can't. Ichi-nii won't take a second to listen to me if I utter one bad word in Rukia's name." She shook her head and sighed. "It's hopeless."

"Don't worry. Things usually work out. Your brother will realise sooner or later that she's the one at fault."

"I guess I can only hope."

* * *

"Ichigo?" Rukia said questioningly. "Ichigo!" Usually he listened to her straightaway but he was trapped in some world of his own at the moment, his eyes glazed over with sadness. "ICHIGO!" She rarely had to yell to get his attention. She put her hand out, onto his bare neck and electricity frizzled for a second before fading away.

"Oh, hey Rukia." Ichigo turned around and smiled adoringly at his wife. He put his hand out for her to take and set her across his lap.

"I know you're sad, Ichigo, but please know this really is the only way to knock some sense into her." Rukia's eyes conveyed concern.

Ichigo sighed. "I know."

The door suddenly opened and Hinamori and Yuzu came in laughing. "Ne, Onii-chan, what do you think?" Yuzu held a dress up against her small frame and grinned at her brother.

Ichigo smiled, "I think that Prince would be an idiot not to dance with you."

"What about me, Nii-sama?" Hinamori asked hopefully, holding up her own dress.

"You know, I almost envy that guy; he'll have so many beautiful ladies to dance with." Ichigo grinned. Hinamori laughed, delighted. "Not that _I_ need to dance with any other beautiful ladies." He said, placing a kiss on his wife's lips. Rukia smiled at him and kissed him back.

* * *

OK, for some strange reason, that seemed way short, on my word document, that was four and a quarter A4 pages. Oh well, review please. And as I stated before, this is make-belief so not everything is according to reality, I mean I don't really think Karin would pass out from lack of a decent drink of water and a meal for three days but there ya go! 


	6. Opportunities

Konnichiwa! The plot shall become clear possible next chapter! Sorry, I've only got a vague idea of what's gonna happen further on in the story so bear with me if everything seems out of sync. I'm tryin. I got another story that I've started workin on at the moment and I've got two major assignments due in for college but I shall try to keep to the regular update rate, but if I don't, you know why. Thanks for the reviews and keep em comin; I love readin em!

* * *

Karin woke to the sound of birds twittering and a dull ache all over her body. She opened her eyes a crack to find that it was light and two green-blue orbs staring back at her. She sat bolt upright. _Shirou_!

She flushed immediately. She'd fallen asleep right beside him. The first thing that occurred to her was if she'd said anything stupid while she slept, for example, _I like you_.

"Good morning." Hitsugaya smiled as he sat up.

"Hey. You should have gone." Karin said, sitting up too. "What if you get into trouble?"

He stood up, stretching as he did so. "I wasn't about to leave you here on your own."

Karin's heart skipped a beat and she flushed a little. He offered her a hand up and she took it. She stood up and looked around. It was early morning. "So, are you going now?"

He raised his eyebrows high. "Are you that anxious to get rid of me?"

"Of course not!" She said hurriedly. "I just...I dunno, what with you...being a...Prince and all, I'd have thought they'd blow a helluva fuse if you went missing." She briefly wondered whether he minded the way she spoke. He was a Prince after all; he had to speak _properly_, whatever that meant.

He smirked. "I'll be leaving in a while. My mother _will_ be worried. She has a tendency to start firing random household staff when she's especially alarmed about something." He tutted.

Karin's eyebrow rose. "You're serious?" He nodded gravely. "But..." She remembered her position and immediately shut up. She couldn't say anything that might suggest that she had an attitude towards the _Queen_.

"But what?" He asked.

"Nothing." She shrugged. He narrowed his eyes but didn't press her further. Of course, he understood that she was below royalty, and even nobility but if she had something to say, then he'd very much like for her to go right ahead and say it, even if it was directed at a member of his family. Though he'd probably start insulting her if she cussed his mother; he was quite protective when it came to his mother. Chikako Hitsugaya could be downright annoying and irritating sometimes but she was his _mother_, and she did have her good side. She could be quite easygoing at times and she could be laidback about the activities that he undertook too. Though, admittedly, those times had gotten more and rarer as her husband's condition worsened.

"Right, well, I think it's about time I got going." He said.

"Yeah...Um...I guess I'll ya later, then!" She smiled.

He immediately went on his way, "Yeah. Just be sure to turn up." He smiled over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Sure."

* * *

Rukia's influence over her husband was wearing thin. These past three days, Ichigo had been distracted and her hold on him had slipped so he was ignoring her (unlike ever before) and he excused himself whenever she, or anybody, was in the same room and he left dinner as soon as he'd finished eating. If she didn't exert force over him through physical contact, he'd continue to shy away from her and she liked _absolute_ control.

But he was gone. When she woke, he was not in bed, he was not downstairs and he was not in any of the other rooms. She'd demanded to know if the servants had seen him at all that morning. Some had replied that they'd seen Sir leave the house early that morning. She'd deduced that he'd gone off to find that hateful bratty little sister of his.

_Hmm, let him come back; he won't be so free then_. She thought smugly.

* * *

Ichigo had taken on a foolhardy errand; he was looking for his sister but finding one girl amid a whole _city_, and a capital city at that, was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He would have come sooner but the guilt had finally started to get the better of him since yesterday evening, when he'd looked upon his other younger sister getting her outfit ready for the ball. He'd reminisced. Had this time been before he had left home all those years ago, before he'd met Rukia, Karin would have been sitting on that bed over there, observing Yuzu as if she didn't care what the younger twin did and passing off Yuzu's enthusiasm for the upcoming ball as a "typically girlish, sissy kinda thing" but she'd have paid attention anyway, because she cared about Yuzu deeply, and because she thought Yuzu was the sweetest thing on God's green earth. Ichigo hadn't noticed the change in the younger twin nearly as much as Karin had because all the people in the household _had_ to be polite towards him.

So, upon that thought, the guilt of kicking his younger sister out onto the streets had eaten away at his heart. He had to find her and he'd need a lot of time.

_Come on, Karin, where are you?_ He thought, pushing through the throng in the city centre. He'd figured he'd look here first because this was the most popular place in the city. But Karin didn't even like busy places; he knew that for a fact. _Really? You think you know her?_ He asked himself,_ you really think you know her? Then why the hell were you being a total fool_!? He himself didn't know why he'd been so harsh, if he thought about it. He'd figured his wife was right; it was the only way she'd learn. But being chucked out on the streets just because she had been seen kissing a peasant? Who the hell cared? He hadn't been paying attention to what she did at all since he'd come back home, aside from all the complaints he'd heard from Rukia. And then he'd only yelled at her and slapped her. He _never_ would have felt the need to slap his sisters before, when Isshin had still been around.

Ichigo took after his father in a lot of ways; he could be extremely idiotic at times but he had a good heart and he cared deeply for those whom he loved, and he had a tendency to ignore basic rules. Before, he couldn't have cared a dime who his sister hung out with, just as long as they weren't too rough and didn't try to take advantage of her, but since Rukia had brought up that keeping the company of peasants was not something a member of a respectable family did, he'd gotten cross at Karin. He was now cross at himself.

He figured it was time he asked around for her. So far he'd had no luck. He'd asked a few dozen people already if they'd seen her but they'd all replied in the negative.

He saw a boy with a cap darting between the crowds and figured that, since he was a peasant, he might know something of his sister. After all, Karin had a tendency to associate with the lower class. He quickly caught up to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, halting his movement. The boy turned around and Ichigo was quite surprised (and a little amused) to find that the cap was pulled over his eyes.

"Yeah?" The boy asked.

For some reason, Ichigo felt as if he knew that voice. He shook the thought off and asked, "Er...Good morning, have you seen a girl about so high (he put his hand up against his mid-biceps, indicating his sister's height), long, dark hair and big dark eyes?" He tried to sound as pleading as possible.

Hitsugaya gazed at the bright-haired man before him and narrowed his eyes. Who was he? Why was he asking for Kurosaki (he was fairly sure that he was asking about Karin, the details matched)? He was dressed in finery. He could only assume it was the brother (if it was indeed Kurosaki that the man was looking for). He decided to find out. "I might have seen one such individual. What name?"

Ichigo was taken aback a little. This peasant sure was bold. But he didn't mind. "Kurosaki. Karin Kurosaki." He said.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed once again. So, he was right. This was no doubt the brother who had kicked her out. But should he let on that he'd seen her? The man's expression sure was sad. He decided to play it safe. "No, sorry."

But he'd hesitated. Ichigo was suspicious. The boy had said that he might have seen someone of that description. "Look..." He began with a sigh, "I need to find my sister, OK? If you know anything please tell me."

"I already said I don't know." Hitsugaya replied, but there was no conviction in it. It was blank.

Ichigo was exasperated. What if this kid really didn't know?

At that moment, someone walked by who knew Ichigo. "Morning, Kurosaki-san." The man said. Ichigo turned to the new arrival and muttered a greeting. "So, I see you're taking care of the scamp that..." The man made a face towards Hitsugaya. He was the one who had told Ichigo about the scene in town in the first place.

Ichigo hid his surprise and said blankly, "Yeah, that's right."

"Well, a most wise course of action, my friend. These commoners need to be taught their place." And with a huff, the man stalked off, bidding Ichigo goodbye. He missed the scowl that formed, fleetingly, upon Hitsugaya's half-visible face.

Ichigo immediately turned back to Hitsugaya, who had also turned and was about to walk away but Ichigo clamped a firm hand over his shoulder. "You are going to lead me to my sister, _now_." He articulated.

Hitsugaya sighed and turned back to face him. "And what if she doesn't want to see you?" He asked.

Ichigo was once more taken aback. This...peasant was talking almost as if he _cared_ about Karin. _Did_ he care? Well, he'd certainly shown more attention by _kissing_ her in the public domain, whereas he, her brother, her supposed guardian, had merely _slapped_ her across the face. "Please, I really need to talk to her. I need to...apologize." He said, looking away from the boy.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose underneath the cap. He wanted to _apologize_? "It's a bit late for that, isn't it?"

Ichigo's eyes flashed angrily for a moment, but he calmed himself down. "All right, you care about her, am I right?"

This time, the white eyebrows beneath the cap were furrowed. What kind of question was that? Sure he cared about Kurosaki; she was his friend, after all. She was his _only_ friend. She knew who he was and she could accept him as a person; of course he cared about her! But would admitting such a thing be wise? Indecisively, he shrugged.

Ichigo sighed. "Please, take me to her. I know I've been a complete idiot. If you know her well, you'll know she's been forced out of the house. I wanted to apologize." He looked at the boy with as much sadness as he could, though this wasn't very much; he wasn't the type to show emotion so openly, unless it was anger.

"And what makes you say that she'll be willing to listen?" Hitsugaya said quickly, before he stopped himself.

Ichigo sighed once more. "All I want to do is say that I'm sorry, that I've treated her wrong, that she'd be the best little sister out there if I'd given her a chance, and that...I'm really, really sorry..." He sighed. He turned around and started to walk away.

Hitsugaya wasn't sure. He really did sound sincere. "Wait." He called out. Ichigo turned back hopefully. "...I'll take you to her..." He said softly. Ichigo smiled and said "thank you" as the peasant boy began to lead him away.

* * *

Karin was on her way out of the field, having finished the small food supply that Hitsugaya had provided her. She had a little more strength now so she thought she'd use that to go and find more energy sources.

She had scarce got past the tightly padlocked, rickety gate that was the entrance to the field when she froze. Hitsugaya was coming back and, behind him, was her brother. She ducked back into the field before either of them saw her and ran across the large patch of land, fast as her feet could carry her. She reached the cover of trees just as Hitsugaya and Ichigo climbed over the gate. She scrambled up the tree that she had reached first and sat upon the branch that was facing the opposite direction of the open field. She stared from around the tree trunk at the two men who seemed to be talking as they looked around.

_What's Ichi-nii doing here?_ She thought frantically, after her breathing had calmed down some. _And with Shirou-kun, no less__. What the hell's he thinkin_?

Hitsugaya frowned under the cap that he wore. Maybe she'd gone back to sleep?

"Wait here, I'll go and see if she's over there somewhere." He pointed to the trees and abruptly began walking towards them, leaving behind a confused Ichigo.

Once he reached the cover of trees, Karin jumped down and rounded on him. "What the fuck's _he_ doin here?" She asked in a muted whisper, jerking her thumb in the direction of her brother.

"He said he wants to apologise." Hitsugaya shrugged.

Her gaze softened momentarily but she said harshly, "fat chance of that! You shouldn't have brought him."

Hitsugaya pulled the cap back above his eyes so he could look at her clearly. His gaze was sombre. "He really sounded sorry. Shouldn't you give him a chance? Maybe kicking you out of the house brought him to his senses and he realises that his wife's been controlling him?"

She snorted unbelievingly. "Like I said; fat chance of that. Please tell him you couldn't find me." She looked at him intently, pleadingly.

"Why? I thought you loved your brother? Isn't this your chance at knocking some sense into him, without your sister-in-law influencing his decisions?" He sighed, "Come on, Kurosaki, doesn't he...?"

"No! He doesn't deserve a chance! And I'll tell you why; when he goes back home, Rukia's gonna demand where he's been and he'll probably relate the whole story to her, tell her everything I told him! And I must thank you because you have now taken away the only place where I could come to think, to be alone without _them_ snapping at my heels!" If it were at all possible to yell without raising one's voice, Karin was doing it now. At the last, she turned on her heel and began to stride away, further into the trees but Hitsugaya grasped her by the wrist.

"What if you're wrong, Kurosaki?" He said softly, "What if he really is here in sincerity? What if he really is ashamed for the way he treated you? You wanted to get back at his wife, didn't you? And what better way to do that than bring her main vessel of authority to your side?"

"You don't get it..." She mumbled, "...I shouldn't need to get him on my side; he should already be on my side." And with that, she shook his hand off and walked away.

"Kurosaki..." He made to call after her but gave up; she wasn't going to listen. He sighed and walked out of the cover of the trees, pulling his cap down as he did so. Why was he so bothered anyway? This wasn't his problem. But Ichigo had said it; he cared about Karin. He feared, so suddenly, for her wellbeing, for her safety and, above all, for her needs. All of the sudden he had the closest friend ever; he wasn't about to let her go.

Upon approaching Ichigo, he shrugged and sighed, "no sign of her, sorry."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the capped figure before him. "She doesn't want to see me, does she?"

Hitsugaya showed neither surprise nor agreement; he merely shrugged.

"Oh well, I guess I deserve it." He smiled a sad accepting smile. "If you talk to her, tell her I said I'm sorry, that I know I'm a complete asshole and I know Rukia can be demanding but she means well. She hates her, you know. I dunno why." Ichigo looked off to the trees, a distant expression on his face as he thought.

"Say, what did you say her given name was?" Hitsugaya asked, feeling a tad bit stupid.

"Eh?" Ichigo's attention turned back to the capped youth. "You kissed her and you don't even know what her name is?!" He suddenly became cross. "And you say you care for her!? What kinda idiot are you!?"

A vein popped in Hitsugaya's skull and he replied icily, "_How_ would I know? She only introduced herself as Kurosaki."

Ichigo paused, "Er...Good point." He grinned sheepishly and Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose under the cap. "Her name's Karin."

_Karin..._Hitsugaya thought, _nice name__. Suits her__...somehow_.

They parted ways soon after, Ichigo back home (after looking around the field for a minute or so, as if hoping that his sister would come to him, but she didn't) and Hitsugaya back uptown, towards the palace. He'd be in for a rollicking from his mother, no doubt. He just hoped it wouldn't be too severe.

* * *

By the small stream some ways from the field, Karin sat on the riverbank staring at the water as it flowed by, her chin in her hands. She wasn't really seeing anything.

_Damn it, I just blew it! I blew the best opportunity I had to talk to Ichi-nii properly._ She thought bitterly. She picked up a stone and tossed it as far downstream as she could. It landed with a faint plop and went down the water.

* * *

"Toushirou! Where were you?!" Chikako Hitsugaya cried shrilly. "I've been worried sick!"

"I fell asleep outside." Hitsugaya shrugged, indicating his deliberately creased clothes. His statement was true, so technically he wasn't lying.

"YOU FELL ASLEEP OUTSIDE?!" She thundered. "I sent search parties out to look for you and there was no sign of you in the palace grounds!"

"I was near the orchard, Okaa-sama, among the trees." Even to his own ears, it sounded stupid, but he sincerely wished his mother would drop the issue; he was feeling extremely guilty.

She held her fiery gaze for a few seconds longer and then huffed and turned to walk out of the room. "Do not be so reckless, Shirou-chan." She said over her shoulder. "You cannot do such a simple thing as forgetting your locale. It does not suit well to the future monarch."

Hitsugaya sighed as the door closed. He'd have to start making preparations for the ball soon; it most certainly wouldn't do well to be even a second late. But sometimes, it was most irritating, having to be so punctual all the time.

He certainly wished that Karin Kurosaki would come. The prospect of dancing with her was quite...awkward, to say the least.

_Imagine being married to Kurosaki_, he thought suddenly. If he didn't find himself a suitable partner at the ball, then he'd take Kurosaki as his wife.

_But she's not that type_, he thought, _what if she doesn't want to be...? Was it selfish of me to think that she'd agree to be my wife without question? We're friends, right_? He sighed. He'd give this further thought if he didn't find another "potential candidate" at the ball. This ball was getting on his nerves.

* * *

"Ichigo, where were you?" Rukia said sternly as her husband finally graced the manor with his presence, sometime in the late afternoon.

"Nowhere." Ichigo said impassively. He made to walk past the petite woman, towards the stairs, but Rukia held an arm out, halting his progress.

"I asked you where you were." She said, her voice carrying an undertone of authority to it.

Ichigo frowned at the woman. For some reason, he involuntarily backed up, out of her reach. "Why? I don't have to report to you." He said wearily.

Rukia fumed. How dare this orange haired man with his gruff attitude answer to her in such a way! She was a perfect lady! He was no better than a common street urchin! "I'd watch how I spoke if I were..."

But she was cut off as one of the doors suddenly opened and Yuzu came running out, her arms waving in the air above her head as she practically crashed into her brother.

"ONII-CHAN!" She cried as she fell into his arms. "I was so worried! Don't do that again!"

Ichigo held his sister close and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance. "Ah, gomen, Yuzu."

"Where were you?" She asked, pouting.

"Town." He replied distantly. "So, you guys gonna get ready for the ball soon? I got stuff to do." He let go of the girl and pushed past his silently bristling wife and hurried up the stairs. Rukia stared after him with eyes narrowed angrily.

* * *

Review!!! please...? 


	7. The Ball

Yay, I'm still in the four-dy-regular-update-rate! I made it in time! Hasn't passed four days as of yet!

Anyway, things are startin to move along now! Enoy!

* * *

Everywhere across the city, everybody was busy. Chaos reigned in all the households containing at the least one young woman. The women were hyper about the ball that would be occurring that evening.

But one young woman who wasn't hyped was Karin Kurosaki. She dreaded the event. She didn't want to go but she'd promised Shirou that she'd be there. But she had nothing to wear! And, she was covered in dirt and her hair was a mess! She simply couldn't go.

However, as she sat deep in the grove of trees about two hours away from the time the ball would begin, she got a surprise, a big surprise.

"Kurosaki!" A chirpy voice called out from the field.

Karin had worried herself into a short nap but she jolted awake as the cheerful voice penetrated her consciousness. At first, she mistook it to be her brother or someone coming to find her again but the voice stated after a while, "Karin-chan, Shirou-kun sent me! It's ok, you can come out!" It was distinctly female. With a frown, Karin got up and went to investigate the disturbance.

Upon clearing the trees, she saw a buxom strawberry-blond woman standing some ways off, more towards the trees but making no move to enter the small grove. "Ah, Karin-chan, I presume?" She said upon catching sight of her and in one hand she held a huge case. Karin went over to her cautiously.

"Who're you?" She asked.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, at your service!" The woman smiled and extended her free hand.

Karin gazed at her for a time and ignored the hand. "How do you know Shiro-kun?" She asked lowly.

"I work up at the palace." Matsumoto said, still maintaining her cheery tone. "I've known the Prince for years, since he was a kid."

"How come you call him 'Shirou-kun'?" Karin asked, marginally convinced that the woman was trustworthy.

"Because I know him," Matsumoto smiled, "I know things about him that nobody else knows." She tapped her nose knowingly.

Karin's eyebrow rose, "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"That'd be telling." The blonde grinned.

"Hmm," Karin continued gazing at her for a time and then sighed, "what're you here for?"

"To get you ready for the ball, of course!"

Karin flushed, "Er...You know about that?"

"But of course, my dear! I told you; I know things about our dear Prince that others have no idea of." Matsumoto winked. She held her huge case out and pointed to the trees. "Shall we?"

Karin looked on uneasily for a second or two and then sighed. "I guess." She said gravely.

"No need to sound so sombre! This shall be a night to remember!" Matsumoto exclaimed happily as she went over to the girl and began to lead her into the cover of trees, brandishing her big case as she went, chattering away about the most mundane things. "This is going to be fun, Cinderella!" She said excitedly.

A vein throbbed in Karin's temple. "My name is _Karin_. Why does everyone have to link me to that stupid fuckin story?" She hissed angrily. Hinamori frequently jeered her as the unloved daughter; the one stuck doing chores while everyone else had fun (though never in front of Ichigo, of course). It was so annoying. And Hinamori often pointed out that she, Karin, unlike Cinderella, would never get a Prince to fall in love with her and she'd be stuck being the one to scrub the cinders clean all her life. Karin bristled every time Hinamori did so and Hinamori always laughed at her, having known that the Kurosaki had been aggravated but she couldn't do anything about it, because if she did, then Ichigo would see it as an offense to his wife's innocent cousin and then punish his sister.

"You're about to get your Prince!" Matsumoto smiled and winked.

Karin looked away and flushed deeply. It wasn't going to happen. _Fairy tales are just make-believe, they're too fantastical to actually occur_.

* * *

Rukia was still seething at her husband, but she controlled her anger. She kept reminding herself that, come the next week or so, she'd be out of there and Ichigo could very well go to hell for his stupid care for his stupid little peasant-loving sister. But she had to admit, it had been fun ruling the lives of these naive _children_. The road to power called towards her like a lighthouse in the dark for a struggling ship. But the road to power was more than a mere lighthouse; it was a summons to a greater level of being. She would have that power. She would have that control, she lusted for that control! Control was what she did best, after all.

A driver had been summoned to take Yuzu and Hinamori to the ball. The two giggling, excited young women waited impatiently for the coach to arrive and as they did, Rukia took Hinamori aside.

"Hai, Rukia-nee?" Hinamori said politely.

"I wanted to wish you good luck." Rukia smiled serenely and put her hand on the younger girl's bare arm. "Be sure to steal that Prince's heart." Her voice, unbeknownst to Hinamori, carried an air of authority. If an outsider had heard it, they would have heard a distinct echo that growled right after her words were spoken and weird electricity zapped about the raven-haired woman's hands, into Hinamori's bare flesh. But it was directed at Hinamori so the girl had no idea she was being played upon.

Hinamori smiled and grasped the hand upon her arm within both hers. "Hai, Rukia-nee."

Yuzu suddenly called out, "Hinamori-chan! Let's go, the coach is here!"

Hinamori smiled at Rukia again, who smiled back, and rushed off to the other girl and together they exited the house and into the back of the carriage that waited. The carriage began the steady journey towards the palace, where the ladies of the city and the Prince Toushirou waited.

Rukia smiled as she watched them go. The house was suddenly quiet. That was probably because she'd sent the servants home too. She wanted the house to herself and Ichigo because she had some business to deal with concerning her husband. _Time for revenge. _She thought evilly. Well, he had disobeyed her commands after all, and nobody disobeyed _her_ wishes.

* * *

"And we're all set!" Matsumoto said as she closed her big case with a sharp _snap_.

"How do I look?" Karin shifted around self-consciously in her new getup. She was dressed in a long, red and black traditional kimono that went up to her ankles, with a broad sash about her waist and wide sleeves that trailed to her knees, and just a handful of her black hair was tied up in a ponytail at the back of her head, with a dark red ribbon that mingled with the dark strands, and the rest cascaded over her elegantly-clad shoulders. Karin was sure the extravagant glass slippers that she wore were not entirely out of synch with the Karin Kurosaki/Cinderella theme.

"You look beautiful, dear!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "Now, let's get going. The ball will be starting soon."

Karin walked along carefully behind the older woman, expecting to fall over anytime due to the restricted leg movement within the fabric of the kimono. She'd always worn short kimonos before, so she'd had no qualms about running, but this was extremely uncomfortable. Was she supposed to act all _demure_ all night? She wasn't the delicate and _demure_ type. She curled her lip in distaste. If Shirou had chosen for her to wear this particular outfit, she'd kill him. Wouldn't it be just embarrassing if she fell over the folds of this stupid garment in front of all those people?_ Wait a minute, since when do I care what people think_? She thought, bewildered.

"Come on, Karin-chan! Hurry!" Matsumoto looked back to find that Karin was some ways behind her. The black-haired girl was walking like one of those sea birds...creature things that she'd heard about from visitors of other continents, what were they called again...penguins?

"H-Hai." Karin stammered. She quickened her pace marginally, fearful that she'd stumble and fall face first onto the brown, dried up grass.

They finally got out of the field and, surprisingly, there was a carriage waiting for them. "Let's go!" Matsumoto grabbed the younger girl's arm and half led, half dragged her towards the waiting coach.

* * *

Hitsugaya looked splendid in his formal attire. He looked like a perfect gentleman and he hated it. Three days of getting to know and constantly thinking about Karin Kurosaki, and being outside, had made him think he'd rather spend his time in the wild than in this stuffed hall that was trying to pass off as having a warm atmosphere and failing miserably, that was slowly beginning to fill with ladies of all shapes _and_ sizes. He was glad he could just observe the hubbub from behind a high window, instead of getting involved in the festivities. He didn't want to go down there but his mother would make him, and get him to feel the oppressive heat of _many_ over-eager females, no matter what. He'd have to make his appearance in a while.

_Where are you, Kurosaki?_ He thought, almost anxious. But it was hard to make Toushirou Hitsugaya _anxious_. He didn't do anxious. He sighed.

After a few more moments speculating, his eyes suddenly turned to the entrance. He'd caught the sight of black hair and he'd hoped that maybe his friend (?) Matsumoto had finally arrived with Kurosaki but it was another.

It was two young women, both of them good-looking but they both had an air of innocence about them. The smaller of the two had short hair that was a mousy brown colour, and she had big, brown eyes. The one which had caught his eye at first was quite short with hair that went a little past her shoulders. The shade was the same as Kurosaki's. _But Kurosaki's looks better_, he suddenly thought with a small smile.

The girl with the dark hair turned her head and looked to where he was, behind the window, and smiled. Hitsugaya started. How did she..._Did_ she know he was here? How? He shouldn't be visible from down there.

"Shirou-chan, I think you should go down there now." Chikako Hitsugaya suddenly said behind him.

Hitsugaya started from his thoughts of the strange dark-haired girl below and turned around. "Hai, Okaa-sama." He said respectfully. He made his way out of the small balcony-like space he was in and out of the doors and down the stairs, towards his self-proclaimed doom. At least there would be other males there, so he wouldn't be the only one dancing with one lone girl. The fact brought little relief.

Hinamori was absolutely delighted when the Prince came in and subtly made his way over to her. He lingered a little, as if waiting for something, but when nothing happened, the white-haired youth made his way across the hall (politely declining many offers to dance with the other females), towards the two girls. Yuzu gave Hinamori a thumbs-up as the Prince extended his hand to her, and then drifted away. Hinamori blushed a little and took his hand and they began to dance slowly, in time with the soft flow that sounded from all over the room. Everybody else ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the young couple and clapped as the two continued to dance.

"So, what's your name?" Hitsugaya asked as conversationally as possible.

"Hinamori Momo, Oji-sama." Hinamori smiled demurely.

* * *

Matsumoto had managed to cheer Karin up a little bit on the ride over, so the Kurosaki girl was feeling slightly better. They arrived at the castle and the driver stopped the carriage and the two women stepped out and made their way towards where the guests were entering the building. Matsumoto made further jokes, as she had the rest of the way (with subtle references to "their dear Prince-dono"), and Karin attempted to laugh and succeeded, marginally.

Upon entering the huge chamber, Karin froze and the small amount of relaxation that had seeped into her posture disappeared as she saw the sight before her and stood up straight, her eyes narrowed, just so nobody would see the surprise upon her features.

Hitsugaya spared a brief glance at the entrance before he continued to dance with Hinamori. He was smiling as he turned back to the girl he danced with.

And what stung Karin the most was that the girl who he was dancing with was the one she, Karin, hated the most after her sister-in-law – the girl who had taken away everything she owned just to spite her, the girl who called her Cinderella without the Prince Charming – in the arms of the boy

that she, Karin, had a liking for, but what also hurt was that the boy in question had looked at her for a brief second, and his gaze had been acknowledging but blank, meaning he had known that she was there but he'd showed no response to that fact.

_It hurts_...she thought. What was she so bothered for? It wasn't like he felt the same way about her anyway. She should be happy for him; if he was enjoying it then good for him, right?

_But...why? WHY HINAMORI!?_ She abruptly turned on her heel and ran away. Matsumoto called after her numerous times but she didn't respond, just continued running. Her ankle-length kimono restricted her movement and she fell near the stairs and both slippers slipped off her feet, but she stood up again quickly, pulling the kimono up to her knees with her hands and holding the material there as she continued running. Black, watery lines ran down her cheeks as her tears smudged the mascara and she angrily wiped at her eyes. Why the hell was she crying? _Get a hold of yourself!_ She admonished herself sternly. It didn't matter; Shirou didn't have any feelings for her outside those of a friend so why was she concerned?

* * *

Rukia had turned off all the lights downstairs. She'd sat in the drawing room for some time, reading a book and then she'd gone to prepare herself some dinner, not that she knew much about cooking; she just got some bread and cheese and downed it with some wine. Ichigo had stayed upstairs since that morning and had refused to come to her so she figured it was about time she went to see him. It had been a good two and a half hours since the girls had left for the ball so she made her way up the stairs, slowly. There was no hurry.

Her husband was sleeping, she discovered upon opening the bedroom door. The light was on and he was slumped upon his desk, his head in his arms and his eyes closed.

_Time to ascertain my authority over this human,_ she thought with spite.

As she stepped through the door and made to go further into the room, a distant bang of a door closing sounded within the empty house. Rukia turned about and raced to the foot of the stairs. There were no other sounds and all was dark. She frowned and waited a while, but it remained silent so she turned around and walked back into her bedroom. Ichigo was awake now and regarding her coolly.

"Rukia." He said in greeting. He still looked a little groggy.

She paused. She'd expected him to stay asleep, that way she could carry out her business in peace. His being awake would just make it harder for her and more painful for him. "Ichigo." She said in response.

"What're you doin in here?" He asked, standing up.

"This is my room too, Ichigo. Is it off-limits?" She asked cynically.

"Not especially." He grunted.

"So I suppose there is no reason for me not to be here."

He shrugged and made to push past her but she held her arm out, halting him. "What d'ya want?" He said gruffly, pushing her arm out of his way. But she brought it before him again.

"Stick around." She said coldly, trying to imitate his way of talking.

"What happened to you, Rukia?" Ichigo said after a moment of silence. "You didn't used to be so...demeaning."

She smirked up at him. "The Rukia you knew is long gone, Kurosaki."

"Is that right?" He reached a hand up and placed it flat against the top of her head. She scowled up at him. "Then tell me you don't love me."

She opened her mouth to speak but shut it again. She tried again, her mouth opened and closed like that of a fish. She finally gave up and resorted to frowning at him.

"See? My Rukia's still in there somewhere." Ichigo kept his hand upon her head and continued to stare down at her. Rukia kept scowling.

"Your Rukia is gone!" She yelled. She lifted up both arms and grabbed his hand and pulled it down with all her might and he lost his balance a little and stumbled.

"Whoa!" As his feet wobbled a little, she brought one leg out and sent it full throttle at his shin. The force of her blow sent him to the floor. "What the...!"

"Now...See just how...demeaning I can be..." She grinned down at him, right hand held out before her as if holding something big within the palm of her hand and an energy ball suddenly appeared, complete with electricity swirling about it.

Ichigo looked up in confusion. Magic? Since when was Rukia able to do magic?

She began chuckling to herself and moved closer towards him, hand outstretched.

"Rukia, when..." He began, trying to rise.

"I TOLD YOU YOUR RUKIA IS GONE!" She screeched, bringing her arm down at her husband.

* * *

Karin had finally arrived home. She didn't want to go to the field; she wanted a bed. She hadn't cared if Ichigo turned her out; she'd still stay, even if he hit her. If she got any comments from Rukia, she didn't care what Ichigo said, she'd beat the crap out of the woman. Needless to say, the long trek from the other side of the city had given her plenty of time to think and she was pretty angry, at herself, at Shirou, at Hinamori, at her brother and the one person who was responsible for everything; Rukia. When she entered the house, she deliberately let the door bang shut. _Let em know I'm here_! She thought. She noticed that the lights were all out so she went to investigate. She first went to the kitchens, to see if any of the servants were about. They should still be around until ten 'o' clock or so. It should only be about half nine right now. She didn't turn on any lights.

The kitchens were empty, as were the rest of the rooms, so she got herself a drink first. She then started to make her way to the stairs. She noticed that the light at the first landing was on. _Ichi-Nii's room_, she thought. She hurried her pace and approached. She heard inaudible talking so she was careful to be quiet. She wondered what her brother and sister-in-law were talking about. She'd never witnessed the two of them having a proper conversation. When she got to the doorway, Rukia yelled, "I TOLD YOU YOUR RUKIA IS GONE!" and then dived towards her brother, who was strangely on the floor. Her eyes widened and she reacted almost without thinking. But she was thinking, at least a little. She was thinking how she'd like to smash open that raven-haired head of Rukia's and how satisfying it would be to see the petite woman's brain leaking out in a pool of her blood.

Rukia felt a heavy thump to the back of her head and she froze momentarily, just before the pain set in, and then she collapsed.

Ichigo looked on wonderingly as his wife fell, to be replaced with the figure of his little sister. He immediately stood up. "Karin!" He exclaimed, going over to her and wrapping his arms about her thin shoulders and hugging her closely.

"Ichi-Nii...Dying..." Karin croaked.

Ichigo immediately let go as Karin panted for breath. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. He noticed that she was all dressed up and that there were several black marks down her cheeks, stemming from her eyes. The kimono that she wore was a bit frayed at the bottom where it'd scraped numerous times over concrete and other rough ground, when she'd let it go while running and her bare feet had a lot of congealed blood upon them and many scratches. "What's with the getup?" He asked, putting off the subject of his wife who was on the ground behind him, unconscious.

"Nothin, was gonna go to the ball." She dismissed the notion and pointed to Rukia. "What was that weird electricity thingy that she was using?"

Ichigo shrugged and looked back at Rukia. He bent down and picked her up and carried her over to the bed and laid her down. His gaze softened momentarily as he looked upon her relaxed visage but then it hardened. She didn't deserve any sympathy. Practicing magic was not only a taboo but she'd made use of it freely (he'd finally managed to think back over the months before he'd returned home, when they'd first gotten married; she had been nothing like what she was like now and she'd influenced him too). This woman was not the Rukia that he knew. "I dunno." He answered his sister.

Karin continued to gaze at him for a moment, her worries about Shirou and Hinamori forgotten for the moment. _But, man! It sure felt good to give Rukia that hit!_ She thought happily. How long had she wanted to do that? Since forever! "What did she mean; she's not your Rukia?" She asked.

Ichigo looked back at his wife and sighed. "I really don't know."

"She was trying to hurt you; I hope you realise that I wasn't just spiting her for no reason." She said solemnly.

Ichigo sighed again. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I heard you before."

"Then why didn't you come and speak to me?"

"Because I was afraid that you would have told everything you heard to Rukia." Karin looked away. "So, things been rocky for you guys?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Where's all the servants?" Karin asked after a while.

"I dunno. Rukia probably sent them home."

"Why?"

"I dunno."

Karin didn't say anything in response. The silence between the siblings began to build so she turned around and made to walk out of the room.

"You didn't tell me the story." Ichigo called. She stopped in the doorway and turned around.

"There is no story." She said flatly.

"You said you were gonna go to the ball." He said pointedly. "How come? What about that guy from earlier?"

"Geez, it was only one kiss, Ichi-Nii! He's not my boyfriend or anything!" She rolled her eyes at her brother and shook her head. "And if _all_ the unmarried women are invited to some ball, then can't I go?"

"But where'd ya get the outfit?"

"A friend."

"You been makin a lot of friends."

"Does that bother you?"

Ichigo thought about her question for a while and then smiled walked up to her and patted her head. "Nope. Not a bit."

Karin smiled and wrapped her arms about him. "Thanks, Ichi-Nii." She mumbled.

Ichigo smiled and held her close. He missed caring for his sisters. He really did. It felt so nice to hear his younger sister thank him, even though she had no reason to do so. "I'm always here for you, kiddo." He mumbled back.

Tears, unexpectedly, came to the fore of Karin's eyes and rolled down her cheek. She pulled back from her brother and wiped them away.

"What're you cryin for?" He said, half joking, half serious. It was serious indeed is _Karin_ was crying. She made it a habit never to cry.

She laughed nervously. "No reason."

"Really? Then how come there's all these traces of that inky stuff down you cheeks, and from before too?" He pointed at the mascara stains down her cheeks.

"It's called mascara, baka." She grinned, wiping more forcefully at her eyes. "And it's all girl trouble. You don't wanna know."

He continued gazing at her blankly for a while. "It's that kid, ain't it? The one with the cap? Did he say something to you?"

"No, it wasn't him." She lied. "It's all because I went to the ball. Hinamori-chan was there." She said the last blankly.

Ichigo continued to observe the girl. "What about Hinamori-chan being there? You knew both her and Yuzu were going to be there."

"I'd honestly tell you about it all but it's not my story to tell, Ichi-Nii. Can you respect that?" She looked beseechingly at her brother, willing him to understand and let it go.

His blank face flickered and showed something akin to regret before he managed to get his expression under control once more. He finally sighed and said, "Alright. You better get some sleep for now, you look like shit."

Karin's face when deadpan as a vein popped in her head. "Gee, thanks Ichi-Nii." She said dryly. "Never could settle for the simple "Welcome back, sis", could ya?"

Ichigo grinned and patted her head again. "Sorry. Welcome back, sis."

Karin smiled despite herself and turned around and walked out of the room. Her brother was right; she probably did look like shit; she certainly felt like it. She was exhausted from doing nothing all morning and afternoon, having very little food to eat and then walking across a good couple of miles at night and then punching her sister-in-law in the head, which had been draining but _very_ satisfying. At least she wasn't on her hands and knees in weakness, she was glad of that.

* * *

Woot! Alright! REVIEW, was that chappy ok? I figured there was no use in dallying about with the plotline any further so I'd better speed things up a bit so there ya go! 

How was it? This story is probably just gonna go on for a few more chapters and then I'ma call it quits for this one. I'm thinkin of continuing my other HitsuKarin fic, Beloved, make it have like two parts so those of you familiar with Beloved, look forward to that! I still need to figure something out for the plot though, welcome all ideas!

Oh, and the sequel to Birthright is up everybody!!!! Check it out!


	8. Her Secret Uncovered

Things are starting to move aong a little bit in this chapter. Rukia's OOCness shall be revealed!

* * *

When Hinamori and Yuzu came down in the morning, they were still tired but Ichigo nevertheless called a family meeting. They were also surprised to see that Karin was back. Rukia, Karin, Hinamori and Yuzu bundled into the living room after Ichigo and the man of the house closed the door behind him. As everybody made themselves comfortable, they began to dish out various looks; Rukia switched between glaring at her husband and Karin, the latter glared right back and then turned her hate towards Hinamori frequently, Hinamori looked back at her and smiled innocently and Yuzu was completely befuddled as to what was wrong with everybody.

"Alright! Enough of the hate!" Ichigo said, putting up a hand. Everyone's expressions cleared immediately, except Rukia's-who continued to glare at him. "The reason why you're all here is because I want you all to know that there're gonna be some changes in this household. Karin is back and she is going to have her old room, so Hinamori-chan, you'll have to find another." He smiled at his dark-haired sister and she smiled back.

"But, Nii-sama...!" Hinamori cried, looking to Rukia for backup. Rukia was too busy remembering the events of the night before to pay any attention to her cousin.

"No buts." Ichigo sighed. "You stay in this house and you will to listen to what I say."

Hinamori shut up after that; it was clear that she wasn't going to get anywhere by protesting.

"And Rukia, I need to speak with you later." Ichigo looked to his wife with a blank expression, but he was worried underneath; whatever had occurred last night had not been his wife. "That's about it."

"Would it be okay for me to do something?" Karin asked suddenly.

"Depends what it is." Ichigo said, turning to face her.

Karin jumped up and stalked over to Hinamori. The shorter girl looked up at her in puzzlement and Karin punched her across the jaw. The shorter girl reeled back and let out a gasp of pain and then started to cry. "That's for taking over my life." Karin said icily. Yuzu started to protest at her sister's behaviour towards her friend and looked to her brother asking would he please _do_ something? She tended to her friend and asked her if she was all right and then glared up at her sister. 

Ichigo's eyebrow merely rose and he continued to look on. Karin had felt cheated when he'd given Hinamori all his sister's belongings, so naturally, Karin was angry. He didn't blame her.

"OK, now the rest of you clear out. I need to speak with Rukia." Ichigo went to sit beside his wife and Rukia continued glaring at him.

"I'm not going anywhere." Karin said, turning her gaze on her sister-in-law.

Ichigo gazed at her for a moment or two and then sighed. Karin knew what it was about anyway so he'd let her stay. "Alright, the two of you clear out." He said to his other sister and Hinamori.

"But, Onii-chan! Why do we have to go if Karin-chan gets to stay?" Yuzu protested.

Ichigo sighed again and pointed to the door. Hinamori and Yuzu left in a huff, with the former clutching her jaw tenderly. When the door closed, Ichigo turned back to Rukia and waited patiently. Rukia made no move to say anything. Ichigo continued to wait.

Karin tapped her foot impatiently but she got the idea so she didn't say anything. As the silence stretched, she began to think about Shirou. What was with that blank look that he'd given her? And why...why did he have to choose Hinamori over any of the other women in the hall? Why? She'd gone because he'd asked her to come...for his sake, and she had. She felt so humiliated even though nobody knew of this predicament. A thousand pairs of eyes might as well have been on her for all she knew. She felt so...small. The boy she liked had asked her to come to a ball and she would never have gone had he not said "for my sake, please". It would have been better if she hadn't gone at all. She hated herself for going. She hated him for blatantly ignoring her.

"What?" Rukia finally said.

Karin was snapped out of her thoughts of self-hate as her sister-in-law's harsh tone penetrated her mind.

"You want to tell me what happened last night?" Ichigo said blankly.

"Oh, so you're giving me a choice now, are you?" She asked cynically.

"Asking is just a courtesy." He replied coldly.

"Well isn't that a first?" She continued cynically. "You're being courteous." She scoffed.

"Answer the damn question already!" Karin scowled. She didn't want to hear the jibes from that woman, or more specifically, she didn't want to hear that voice more than necessary.

Rukia turned an equally distasteful gaze on her and scowled. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you, brat!" She spat.

"Yeah, well you're not me, bitch!" Karin growled.

Rukia's glare, if possible, deepened. "How dare you...!"

"Enough! Answer my question." Ichigo said in exasperation.

"I shall not." She said defiantly.

"You don't have much of a choice!" Karin stormed.

Rukia continued to glare. "I told you all there is to it; your Rukia is gone!"

"What does that even mean?" Ichigo questioned.

"You figure it out, genius." She said cynically. "You were all there, the lot of you little scamps; you, your wife, the Abarai guy, Hinamori, you were all there! A year ago!"

Ichigo paused. "T-The grave...yard?" He said slowly, remembering.

"YES!" She yelled in frustration. "It wasn't me who decided to explore a hidden tomb and unleash powers beyond your control."

"What are you saying?" He said.

"Ichi-Nii, what's she on about?" Karin asked, confused.

Ichigo sighed. "Last year, a group of us went to a graveyard just for the hell of it. One of our buddies came up with a dare and we couldn't turn it down so we went. It was mostly in ruins but we broke down the door to some old mausoleum and we discovered some hidden caves and Rukia went in there by herself and then...There was this sorta scream...and...then someone laughed, you know, a real horrible sound. I went to see what was wrong but all I found was Rukia standing there in the middle of it, grinning like an idiot." He then pointed at his wife. "I get it now! You're some kinda spirit, ain't ya?" He demanded.

She smirked evilly. "Took you long enough to figure it out, Kurosaki."

"What d'ya want with this family?" He asked.

"I don't want anything from this family, Kurosaki. You're all merely pawns in my plan to get what I deserve; power." She said, her eyes faraway and her tone distant.

And then something clicked inside Karin's mind and her eyes widened in understanding. "It was you! You did some of your hocus-pocus shit on your cousin and got her to make the Prince like her. And if the two of them get married, you'll have control over Hinamori and make her influence the Prince's decisions once he takes the throne!" She glared. She was apologetic towards Shirou now; the blank look that had registered her presence had been influenced by Hinamori, who had, in turn, been influenced by Rukia. It wasn't his fault, it was Rukia's. "You bitch!" She spat.

"Oh my, your bratty sibling is smarter than you, Kurosaki." Rukia said cynically. "But I apologise; I've simply run out of medals for you, dear."

"Why did you come to this family?" Ichigo said.

"Somebody was foolish enough to enter my tomb, dear boy, and I was so tired of that place. They buried me alive some centuries ago for the attempted assassination of their dear Prince. We were to be wed but he aggravated me so!" She snarled. "I saw a vision. I see lots of visions. I saw that girl, this cousin of your wife's, dancing with the Prince amid a room full of ladies. These kinds of balls are frequent occurrences for the decision for who is to be the wife of the next king. So, naturally, I took over the flesh body of whoever next entered my burial chambers and my rightful power shall be granted to me." Her voice had taken on a kind of recital quality to it, almost as if she were reading off by heart as her mind wandered.

"But why didn't you just come to this place and marry the damn Prince yourself?" Ichigo said bitterly. "Why did you agree when I asked for your hand in marriage?"

"I knew this girl who I possessed loved you and since it was her cousin that I saw, I thought staying with you would be the best option that I had in order to gain my power." She looked up at him and smiled. "I have no further use for you." And her voice carried authority and persuasion.

"Bullshit!" Karin saw that the woman was trying to use her magic again and she rushed up to her and punched her across the jaw.

"Argh!" Rukia cried as she got hit. "Peasant! You shall pay!" She brought her hand up and an energy ball formed above her palm. She stood up, readying her attack as she did so.

"Enough!" Ichigo yelled, bringing his hand down upon Rukia's head and holding her off. With his other hand, he grasped her wrist and moved it forcefully so that the energy ball was facing her heart. "Don't threaten my sister." He said icily.

"Stand aside." She said, her voice clearly defined by a growling echo, the voice of persuasion.

"Fuck off with the magic already!" Karin growled, stepping beside her brother and making to aim a kick at the woman's stomach area.

"Karin!" Ichigo said roughly.

Karin stopped, her leg bent in the air, ready to lash out. "What?" She asked. "Can't I hit her? It's about time I got some payback around here."

Ichigo sighed. "You've hit her twice already, and Hinamori too, and she was just a pawn." He said.

"But still!" She protested. "She made my life a hell!"

"Karin." Ichigo said quietly. "Lay off...for now."

She looked indecisively between her foot and the older woman and then to her brother. She sighed and let her leg lower to the ground. "Fine. For now, but if she tries anything, I'ma murder her, got that?"

Rukia's energy ball slowly started to fade away and she slumped. She'd stressed herself out with overuse of magic. She wasn't as adept at it as she used to be and now she was going to lose her remaining energy for a short period of time and until then, who knew what they'd do to her. _Damn you, Karin Kurosaki. DAMN YOU_!

* * *

"Are you feeling alright, Shirou-chan?" Matsumoto asked disapprovingly.

"What?" Hitsugaya asked.

"What d'ya mean "what"! You should know that!" She thundered.

"Remember who you're talking to." He said lazily.

"Oji-sama, you asked Karin-chan to come yesterday and you completely ignored her!" Matsumoto said.

"Karin? You mean Kurosaki? What about her?" He asked, his mind faraway. He was thinking of the girl he'd spent most of the night with. Hinamori. She was slowly fading from his mind.

Matsumoto sighed in frustration. "What is the matter with you? You were the one who asked her to come, were you not?"

"Yeah, so?" He challenged.

"She came and you paid her no mind!" Matsumoto hissed.

This seemed to surprise the young Prince. "She came? When?"

"Is your mind so befuddled that you can't even remember seeing your friend, who went there expressly for your sake?" She asked crossly.

"I don't see what you're getting so heated up about." Hitsugaya shrugged. "It was just a ball."

"Yes, a ball that will determine who your wife will be!" Matsumoto cried.

"If that is the case then I have already chosen." Hitsugaya said calmly.

"And what about Karin-chan?" His friend asked quietly.

He shrugged. "She's just a friend. It's not like she'll lose anything by me getting married to someone else."

"You're wrong." Matsumoto said quietly.

He turned on brilliant eye on the buxom woman. "Why am I wrong?"

"She likes you. She's absolutely smitten over you."

Hitsugaya paused awhile. "How do you know?"

"I just do." She shrugged. "It's a female thing."

"Is that right? But I don't like her in that way..." And even as he spoke, he knew it was a lie. He did like her; he liked her more than he should like anybody. These past few days of tumult had provided only one comfort; Karin Kurosaki. He'd been so carefree when he'd been with her, and then when he'd watched her as she drifted off into sleep the night before the last, upon some pallor fading from her cheeks as she gained a little bit of strength from the food that he'd got her, she'd looked so peaceful. In the morning, he'd risen before she had and he'd watched her again. He hadn't had his cap on that time. He'd been himself and he'd thoroughly enjoyed the experience; laying beside a girl in a field without having anyone frowning upon his actions, watching over his first true friend. And then he'd had the sudden urge to lean over her and press his lips upon hers again, to take his time and explore instead of trying to prove a quick point to some snobs. What were her lips like? That other time, he'd broken away as soon as they'd touched. He'd have loved to savour the taste of those lips, to see if they carried a taste of _her_, of her personality, of her being. Kurosaki...

"You said she was the closest friend you ever had!" Matsumoto said. "You broke her heart!"

He stopped at that and turned to look at Matsumoto properly. "I did what?"

"You broke her heart!" She insisted.

"How did I break her heart?" He asked irritably. But beneath the facade of irritability and nonchalance, he knew it too. He liked Hinamori, sure he did, but he only met her once, and that had been when society had called for him to act as a Prince, not as Toushirou Hitsugaya. She hadn't known him while he was acting like a normal person but Kurosaki had, it was the reason why they became friends so quickly. And she could relate. She was a good person and friend. And to hear that he had broken that friend's heart was...terrible, to say the least.

"Is nothing of what I'm saying getting to you?" Matsumoto demanded. "I just told you that you broke Karin-chan's heart...She was crying when she left. She probably ran all the way from wherever it is that she came from without any shoes on!"

"What?" He looked up at her and frowned. "Without any shoes? Why?" But what really worried him was whether the part about Kurosaki crying had been right. Kurosaki was a hardy person, why would she cry? Judging by all the strife that she'd gone through in the last few months, since her father's death, one would have thought that she was easily breakable but instead of being soft, she was quite the opposite. He quietly admired that quality of hers; his father was on his deathbed now and he was finding it hard to get by without the old man around. His father used to be a figure of authority and strength but now he was just a frail man of forty years with a sick pallor about his visage and once-brilliant eyes glazed over with hallucinations, seldom seeing anything that was actually there.

"She fell! She fell by the stairs and she didn't bother to stop to get the shoes, she was in that much of a panic for nobody to see her tears! If she went back to that field, it would have taken her a good hour! Imagine, a sixteen-year-old girl walking by herself at _night_, with no shoes, across _all_ kinds of terrain! And it's _your_ entire fault!" Matsumoto abruptly turned and walked away rigidly, leaving behind a stunned Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya stared after the busty woman, speechless, not knowing what to say. Contrary to what Matsumoto had said, he had heard what she'd claimed and it saddened him deeply. _Kurosaki must be feeling so wronged now!_ He briefly remembered seeing two familiar faces in the haze that was last night but he hadn't actually acknowledged that those two faces were there on his say-so. How terrible did Karin feel now? And then there was Hinamori; she was an interesting girl but he had absolutely no idea why that was. It was as if he'd been someone else entirely during the ball. He had waited for Karin but to him she hadn't turned up so he'd settled for dancing with the other dark-haired girl. She reminded him of Kurosaki in a way, and maybe he'd even gotten himself to believe that she _was_ Kurosaki, no matter for how short a time. He had learned that Hinamori was currently living in her cousin sister's home, with her husband's family. He'd asked the name of the other girl who had been with her and Hinamori had replied that the light-haired girl was called Yuzu Kurosaki. Karin had told him yesterday morning that she had a twin sister so he figured (much, much later) 

that Hinamori was one of the people who had made his friend's life hellish but, for some reason, he hadn't been able to think badly of her. It was like she'd captured him, or captured his heart.

Matsumoto had left him a small box. She'd roughly pushed it into his hands when she'd come upon him in the gardens and then began her rant. Hitsugaya had been quite surprised that she'd been so serious. Usually, she was off drinking sake with the other people who worked in the palace, closer to the higher-ups than the maids and such and she was normally quite a cheery person. She didn't yell much so he had been a little astounded by her behaviour.

Wearily, he pulled the lid off the box and looked in. A pair of small, glassy slippers met his gaze and he frowned, until he remembered that Matsumoto had said that Kurosaki had left without her shoes. They were so small; he was quite amazed that Kurosaki would have such delicate feet that would actually fit into them. He mentally smacked himself for not paying attention again. He tried to picture what she'd looked like in the outfit that he'd chosen for her. Matsumoto had been the one to suggest the slippers. He couldn't do it so he sighed, put the lid back on the box, tucked the box under his arm and began walking again.

Maybe he'd go and visit her today, as himself or maybe he'd go as Shirou. Karin liked Shirou better anyway.

All thoughts of Hinamori were temporarily forgotten as his worry for Kurosaki increased.

* * *

A servant (rather distastefully) informed Karin that a visitor was requesting for her, and he was in the hallway. Hinamori and Yuzu looked questioningly at Karin and exchanged puzzled glances. Hinamori, still feeling sore about the punch that she'd received earlier, snuck out after her to the hall. She frowned at what she saw. There was a peasant boy standing there, just inside the door, and he had a cap pulled low over the top half of his face.

Karin saw her rival and scowled. "What d'ya want, Hinamori?"

"Ah, gomen," Hinamori said, "I just wanted to see who would come to see _you_."

"Hinamori?" The boy said, tilting his head back to get a better look at the said girl. He froze. Hinamori, the girl he had danced with all night, was here. She looked beautiful. He was about to remove the cap and go up to her but he'd scarce lifted his hands up and took a step or two when Karin took a firm hold of his wrist and proceeded to drag him out the door. "You say one word more about me and I swear I will kill you." She said over her shoulder, at the girl who stared after the two of them with curiosity. The look of curiosity upon Hinamori's face vanished at Karin's deadly tone. She retreated back into the room that she had previously been in, back to the gentler of the Kurosaki girls.

"What's with you two?" Hitsugaya asked as the door closed, his thoughts of Hinamori fading as she was no longer in his sight and the temporary fog within his mind fading as his thoughts were his own once again.

"Nothing." Karin replied stoically.

"Matsumoto told me what happened yesterday." He suddenly said in a grave tone.

"And?" She said blankly. She knew what had transpired last night was not his fault but she still felt a little awkward.

"I...I came to apologize." He replied awkwardly.

"About that, I've got news!" She cried, ignoring his remark. And with that, she took his arm again and proceeded to drag him along once more, running full speed towards the small gardens that were part of the Kurosaki property. After ascertaining that they were along, she told him of Rukia's little story earlier and his and Hinamori's part in it all.

"A pawn for power?" He asked, eyebrows raised high, though that was hard to tell because his cap was still pulled over his eyes. It was a little incredible to believe but magic wasn't unheard of in this kingdom.

"Yeah. I know it sounds farfetched but she uses magic and everything." Karin explained earnestly. "I fear she said something to Hinamori concerning you last night, infusing it with her magic thingy, so 

Hinamori somehow had some influence over you, but it seems to be wearing thin if you can think _properly_." She looked to him meaningfully. "_Can_ you think properly?"

"The hell kinda question is that?" He scoffed. "Course I can think properly." 

She smiled for some reason and he frowned in response. "What're you smiling at?" He demanded.

She shook her head and continued smiling. "Nothin, it's just...you're speakin like me."

"Well, friends influence friends, no?" He said with a small smile of his own.

"I guess so." She agreed.

"I'm really sorry for yesterday." He said apologetically.

"I told you it's fine." She said. "You needn't apologise."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because you're not the one at fault." She replied softly.

"So who is?" He enquired.

"Why, Rukia of course!" She grinned. "Rukia's always the one at fault."

"Shouldn't you get an exorcism done, if she's possessed by a spirit?" He asked, wearing his customary frown.

She shrugged. She herself had entertained that idea but what sort of an effect would that have on the real Rukia? Karin was curious as to what the real Rukia was like, if she really did love Ichigo or not. The real Rukia must have been something if she'd gone into an age-old tomb by herself. Karin liked courageous people. "Ichi-Nii's the one who's gonna be makin the decisions. She's _his_ wife, after all."

They continued walking in silence for a while, keeping a sizeable three feet between them. The quiet finally grew a little awkward and they both spoke out at the same time, "So...Er..." They trailed off and grinned at one another. "Wanna see my favourite tree?" She asked uncomfortably.

"You have a favourite tree?" He asked incredulously.

"Shut up! I like trees!" She snapped.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing." He said, holding his hands up in surrender.

She harrumphed and folded her arms across her chest and hurried her pace.

"You like the outdoors, huh?" Hitsugaya said, easily keeping pace.

She smiled at that. "I guess I do. Ah, look! There it is!" She suddenly pointed to the corner of the crowded garden to the gnarliest tree that Hitsugaya had ever seen. Huge branches reached out all over the place and the trunk was twisted in a most bizarre fashion.

Hitsugaya lifted his cap and let it rest to just above his eyes and raised an eyebrow quizzically. "That thing?"

She grinned. "Yeah. Otou-san was gonna have it chopped off years ago but I thought it was cool and asked him to leave it. He'd tried so many times to have it removed but I simply love it and I pleaded that he let it stay so he did." She went up to it and looked up at it with admiration. "And I hereby name you Shirou-kun." She said softly.

"Eh?" Hitsugaya said in confusion.

"A tribute to my good friend the Prince and also because I've wanted to name it for so long but I didn't have any decent names to go with it." She looked back at him over her shoulder and winked. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "You know, this tree has a nice personal little area behind it. It's quite spacious. Come on." She took his hand, much to his and her surprise (though she didn't show it), and began to climb through the thick foliage surrounding it. "I made a path through this once but it's been so long since I last came here that all the vegetation has grown back." She explained as she got nicked on the arm by an errant thorn.

"This is dangerous." Hitsugaya said as they emerged on the other side. This side was now also rife with plant life.

"Damn it!" Karin said with consternation. She'd loved this place, in the past she would bring all the outdoor toys here and play with them by herself. "This isn't fair! Stupid thick plants growing on my turf!"

"Hey, calm down, it's just plants." Hitsugaya said blankly. "I'll help you pull them out if you want."

She turned back to him and one dark eyebrow rose. "Sure you know how to do that, Oji-sama?" She asked cynically.

A vein popped in Hitsugaya's skull. "Shut up, Kurosaki! Just cuz I'm from the royal family doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant of normal ways." To prove his point, he fell to his knees in the plants and made to reach out and pull out the plant nearest to him.

"Baka, don't do that! It's dangerous!" She chastised, falling next to him on her knees. "You get cut, it's most likely it'll get infected and we don't know whether any of these plants are poisonous or not." She said, ripping of a sizable chunk off the kimono that she wore.

"Let me." He said softly, taking the cloth from her. He wrapped it about his hand and began to earnestly pull the weeds out of Karin's little patch of ground. He didn't speak as he worked, enjoying the labour that the task employed. He wondered what his mother would say if she saw him do this. But he loved all tasks that required full and physical attention. Mostly, if he wanted something done, all he'd need to do was call a servant.

Karin watched him with interest and a small smile played across her lips. He looked so serene. He'd do well as a worker, she felt. Almost naturally, she reached up and pulled his cap off his head, letting his wild mop spread every which way. He got distracted as he was about to pull another weed out and, unfortunately for him, his hand was hovering dangerously close to a tiny patch of thorns. He looked up at her and smiled and, instead of his hand reaching forcefully down to grab the plant, it slammed into the little thorn patch. He grimaced in pain and immediately inspected the hand. There was blood coming out of the little punctures in the skin.

"Shit!" Karin exclaimed, taking his hand and looking at it closely. "Damn that looks bad!"

"It's fine, Kurosaki." He muttered blankly, though he was extremely touched that she was so worried. He tried to get the hand back but she held it adamantly.

"We need to get this seen to." She said, standing up and dragging him up too. She let go of his hand and put his cap back on his head, being careful to trap all the white strands under it. Almost involuntarily, Hitsugaya's hands rose up to rest on either side of her waist. She looked down at them and then at Hitsugaya, who was equally surprised. He hastily made to let her go but her hands landed upon his and held them there. The blood of his wounded hand stained her palms, as did the dirt, but she held on.

"Gomen..." Hitsugaya began.

"It's ok." She said in an almost whisper, cutting him off.

He found himself leaning towards her, lips slightly parted and breath coming out of them in short spurts. Karin was the same. A flush streaked across their cheeks but they continued to lean forward.

And just when their lips were about to meet, some bird high up in Karin's favourite tree decided that it was time to leave and flew out of the cover of trees quickly. The girl and boy jolted apart, nearly tripping over the various plants that littered the floor.

The moment was gone. "Um...Better get those cuts washed and bandaged." Karin said nervously, looking away from him as a furious blush crept across her cheeks.

"Right, yeah, let's go." Hitsugaya shrugged, also nervous. Almost! _Almost_...


	9. Someone Else

On his way back to the palace, Hitsugaya was quite weary but he had enjoyed the physical labour of trying to make Kurosaki's personal space a little cleaner. It would have been a marvellous place if she managed to get it all cleaned up. He was going to visit again...soon.

"_Ne, come back sometime, ok? Please?"_

That was what she'd said upon his departure, in a voice so soft that he'd barely heard it. He'd turned and looked over his shoulder at her to find her cheeks flushing angrily. He hadn't been able to suppress the grin that had spread across his face.

"_What're you smirkin at?!"_

It had been funny to see her explode like that. She clearly wasn't used to being so...soft. He'd shrugged and said in an undertone that he wouldn't miss seeing her for the world, just so he could see that blush streaking across her cheeks again. And this time it had coloured her whole face a deep bright red. He had found it endearing...and rather amusing. And just to annoy her a little more, he'd let out a small chuckle.

And what was on his mind the most at that moment was that he'd been about to feel Karin's lips upon his but some stupid damn bird had shattered the moment, but what had really been the highlight of the visit had been feeling Kurosaki's hand upon his hair, smoothing it back as she stuck his cap back on his head with the utmost care. 

...He could still feel her hand...tracing lingering warmth over his forehead... 

He wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her that he cared deeply for her, that she was the first friend that he'd had, and that she was his first love.

Yes, his first love.

There was no mistaking the feelings he felt towards her. It wasn't mere attraction; he would do _anything_ for this girl, because she was his friend, his confidant, she'd given up her own feelings of not dancing just for him and she'd still agreed to see him without any qualms even though he'd broken her heart. He was still guilty about that. When Kurosaki had led him to the kitchen and went to find a first aid kit, Hinamori had ambled in and Hitsugaya's heart had almost turned over and he'd made to walk over to her but she'd backed out of the room as soon as she'd seen him, not wanting to associate with a peasant. It vaguely sickened him that he actually liked someone like that, but maybe her attitude was because of the spirit that possessed her cousin. That was what he'd hoped anyway. He would have followed her had Karin not speedily come back, almost having sensed the danger of Hitsugaya revealing his real self to her rival. And then she'd washed his hand herself, even though he was perfectly able to do so, and she'd cleaned his cuts and applied some bandages.

But there was no rivalry between them, Hitsugaya surmised. They were entirely different. Hinamori seemed kind on the surface but she had the same view of the poor as the rest of the middle and upper classes; peasants were not humans, and thus should not be treated as such, whereas Kurosaki seemed to prefer the company of peasants, as people who deserve a whole load of respect more than the upper classes because they worked for their money and they worked damn hard, as opposed to rich snobs who did nothing more than gossip about their neighbours' personal lives and what happened in those lives and the disgraces and secrets that had leaked out about them, ruining their social standing forever. 

_So petty we humans are_, he thought in amusement. So, if these two women really liked him and were really vying for his affection, then there had never been a contest because he already knew who he wanted by his side when his time came to take the throne.

* * *

Rukia was getting weaker. Ichigo, though he really didn't want her to die, had refused her any food for a whole week. She was to live on nothing but water. Maybe the evil spirit would finally get tired of the human functions of the body it possessed and leave it be. But it had been four days since he'd shut her away in their room with no food but Rukia was not her real self; the spirit remained, though she'd taken to laying in bed all day. 

Her power had started to get weaker ever since Karin had come back home so the Kurosaki house was full of laughter; Karin had her real sister back, Ichigo was his normal self and Hinamori, well, Hinamori was being...a little nicer, though she was extremely worried about her cousin, who was her best friend apparently.

She was a bit sad that the Prince hadn't called on her but then she thought she'd dreamt the thing with the white haired boy dancing with her at the ball, but Yuzu kindly told her that the Prince had indeed danced with her...the whole night, in fact. This only brought her more consternation and she became a little depressed with everything that was going on and kept herself to her new room, which was on the same floor as everybody, though not too close to Karin's room. Karin couldn't have been happier about the way things were at the moment; she still hated Hinamori and hoped that she'd get so fed up of living in these conditions that she may commit suicide. She deserved it.

Hitsugaya had come to see Karin after four days. There was a commotion at the entrance as servants suddenly began to mill around. There were shouts and a servant quickly came to the room where everybody generally spent their time, though with the exceptions of Rukia and Hinamori, who were in their individual rooms.

The servant informed the girl - while trying to hide astonishment - that she had a visitor and that he had refused to come inside. She eagerly went out into the hallway to see her guest. Much to her surprise, it was the Prince Hitsugaya that greeted her, instead of Shirou.

"Oh...Good afternoon..." She said, coming to a halt before him, and just for the benefit of the servants who had come out to see the phenomenon, she bowed deeply. "...Ojii-sama..."

Since the servants were making quite a racket, Yuzu, Ichigo and even Hinamori all came out to see what was happening. Hinamori froze. Hitsugaya's sight travelled up the stairs to where she clung to the railing and his eyes glazed over for a second, until Karin straightened, and his attention went back to the person who he'd come here for. "Good afternoon, Kurosaki-san." He said stoically. "May I discourse with you in private?" He asked, tone carefully blank.

"Hai, Ojii-sama." Karin said respectfully. She looked back at her brother, who shrugged, and said, "Would it so please Ojii-sama to have tea in the gardens?" Something was irking Karin at that moment; it was the fact that Hitsugaya was biting his lower lip hard to prevent himself from smirking. A small vein popped in her forehead, unseen by all except the young monarch-in-waiting.

"But of course." He said calmly.

"Hai," and she bowed again and hurried to open the door for him as they exited the building. Ichigo was heard ordering a servant to prepare tea for the guest as the door shut behind them. Outside, Hitsugaya's entourage stood by as the young Prince walked by them without sparing them a glance. "Await my return, I shall not be long." He said coolly over his shoulder. His bodyguards hesitated awhile and then stood back, with a polite "hai, Ojii-sama".

Once they entered the gardens and were out of earshot of anybody from the house, Hitsugaya smiled a small smile. "You had me fooled, Kurosaki, I could have mistaken you for somebody else back there," he said.

Karin shrugged.

"That was a little awkward." He continued.

She shrugged once again.

"What, cat got your tongue?" He teased.

"No, Ojii-sama." She said stoically.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed a little as he turned his head about to regard her carefully as they walked. Her expression was blank and her posture was rigid. When she'd first come out of that room to meet him, she'd worn a smile but it had faded upon catching sight of him. "What's with the politeness?" He asked, thoroughly irritated now.

She shrugged.

"Would you prefer me to go away?" He enquired, both white eyebrows furrowed.

"No." She said quietly.

His hand reached into the inner pocket of the garment that he wore and he lifted something out. "Would you prefer it if I wore this?" And with that, he stuck his messy white cap on his head. It was at odds with the rest of his immaculate, creaseless attire.

Karin turned her head about to get a look at what he was on about and frowned. "That looks ridiculous." She said blankly.

"I'm aware of that." He said matter-of-factly.

"Then take it off."

"No."

"Why?"

"Cuz it's about the only thing that's making you talk to me."

Karin stopped at that. She gazed at him intently. "What does that mean?" she asked softly.

"This is the first time you've really encountered the real me," He said, also stopping and turning about to face her.

"But this isn't the real you." She whispered.

"So?" He asked in the same tone. "I could say this isn't the real you." He pointed at her.

She frowned once more. "Why would you say that?"

"Why would I say that? Just as I'd rather be a normal person, you'd rather be a normal person too, but yet our birthrights and our families hinder us from being what we want to be. You're no different than me." He answered.

"But...It just feels so different...seeing you...like this." She said with some difficulty.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because it's like the clothes and stuff make you a different person. You don't...feel the same..." She looked away.

"Really?" He asked and, suddenly, he took off the cap and took a hold of her hand and ran it through his spiky hair, guiding it along with his own atop hers, where he still remembered the feel of her touch. "Does that feel any different from the real me?" He whispered.

"...No..." she whispered. She ran her hand through his hair by herself and he let go and put his hands to her waist and pulled her closer. Her other hand went up to his head and joined the first and began soothingly stroking his white head. Her heart was thudding madly but she ignored it. Their heads came closer and closer together, their eyes closing as they neared one another, lips parted. They could both feel the breath of the other upon their lips and they continued to slowly close the distance...

"Ahem!" A rather loud clearance of the throat sounded out from behind them and they jolted apart, immediately letting go of one another.

Karin looked over to where the noise had come from and found that Ichigo was standing there, a tray of tea and tasty treats within his hands. She flushed furiously as he smirked.

"Sorry to interrupt, but your tea is served." He said humbly to the Prince. "I took the liberty of bringing this to you guys myself, see how nice I am?" He grinned.

Hitsugaya couldn't help but notice how alike Ichigo and Karin were. The bright-haired man didn't seem to care too much that he was in the company of the monarch-in-waiting.

"Um...We'll go over there, if it's all the same." Karin said to Hitsugaya, ignoring her brother, pointing to a corner of the garden, around the sloping curve where her favourite tree rested. She held her hands out for the tray and her brother handed it over carefully.

"Have fun!" He said before sauntering off, grinning like an idiot as he went.

"Baka..." Karin muttered sourly as she and Hitsugaya walked towards the gnarly tree.

Hitsugaya smiled but continued wordlessly after her.

"I think we'd better sit in front of it, as much as I would like to go out back but there's still some stuff left to do, plants to pull out." She explained as she set the tray down and sat beside it. Hitsugaya lithely slid down to her side. She began to pour him some tea and held the cup out to him. He took it with a 'thanks' and they drank in silence for a while, ignoring the other little snacks on the tray. Karin commented on the weather, in an effort to make conversation. Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose a little. "I guess it is a nice day." They didn't speak again for a few seconds.

"So, how have you been?" Karin asked, uncomfortable with the silence.

"What's with the Smalltalk?" He asked, taking a sip from the cup. Karin couldn't help but notice that he was very tidy while he drank; he was a Prince, after all.

She shrugged, "Even though I don't really make this effort with anybody else, I do actually care whether you've been alright or not." She shrugged as a small blush crept across her cheeks.

One corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a small smile. "Thanks, Kurosaki." She smiled at that but didn't reply so silence fell once again.

Karin finished first and put the cup down and leant back against the tree with her hands interlocked behind her head. She sighed and smiled as she closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she felt Hitsugaya settle against the tree too. She opened one dark orb to find that he was staring at her through the corner of his eye.

"What did you want to talk about?" She suddenly asked.

"Eh?"

"You said you wanted to talk, back at the house." She replied.

He sat up and moved about so he was facing her. "Um...I...talked to my mother..." He began hesitantly.

"About what?" She enquired, also sitting up and facing him.

"Um...About taking a wife..." He said.

"Right..." She looked at him meaningfully, urging him to go on.

"Well...She said she wanted to meet "my choice" for dinner." He said, looking anywhere but at her.

She frowned, wondering what he was getting at. "And?"

"Um...Would you come to the palace, tonight?" He blurted rather quickly.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, taking in the connotations of his utterance. "M-Me? But..."

But she was cut off as someone came to stand some way away from them. "Ano, Ojii-sama...?" Hinamori looked to the two of them and paused, her head bowed and her arms hanging uselessly by her side. She looked depressed and she'd lost a lot of weight since the last time Hitsugaya had seen her.

Karin's eyes narrowed as Hitsugaya turned his attention to the one who had addressed him. "Hn?" His eyes glazed over for the second time. She looked so sad, he wanted to get up and go and comfort her. What was she so upset about?

"Um...I...I would...I would very much like...to...to..." She trailed off as her voice cracked.

Hitsugaya's heart swelled painfully to see her look so sad. "Yes?" He said softly. He stood up slowly and went over to her, taking his time, as if uncertain. His mind was confused; one part of him was wondering what the hell he was doing going over to this girl that he didn't even know while the other part told him to hurry up; Hinamori-chan was in pain. "Are you okay?" He said as he stopped a few feet before her.

"I...I'm fine..." She said, looking up at him.

He saw that her eyes showed that she wasn't really there; she wore an absent-minded expression, as if her mind was somewhere else.

Karin looked on in amusement. She wasn't angry, far from it. For Hinamori to have plucked up the courage to come out of her room and confront this guy who had danced with her from most of the higher class ladies in the kingdom, this was probably really important. Karin actually felt sorry for her; it was almost as if their roles had been reversed. Previously, Karin had been the one at the receiving end of all the bad luck but now she had her brother and sister back, her evil sister-in-law was no longer in any condition to take control, she had her own room back, and Hitsugaya still came to see her. And what about Hinamori? She'd gone from having whatever she wanted to having almost nothing, aside from the faint hope that the Prince would come back to her. 

_Fate is a strange thing, it is an annihilator, it gives people what they want for a short time and then it rips it away_. She thought, tearing her gaze away from the boy and girl standing some ways off and up at the clear sky. She sighed.

"I...I just wanted to know...whether you still...had any interest...in me...?" Hinamori looked up at Hitsugaya hopefully, her cheeks slightly tinged with red.

"I'm sorry." He said, almost wistfully. "There's...Someone else..."

"Her?" Hinamori's tone suddenly turned venomous and she pointed roughly behind him, where Karin had now taken to leaning back against the tree with her head resting on her hands. At Hinamori's utterance, her eyes opened and she raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Yes." Hitsugaya said calmly. Karin's heart began to hammer within her chest.

"Why?!" Hinamori cried. "What has she got that I haven't?!"

"That is too big a difference for me to say." He said in the same calm tone.

"WHY!?" She shrieked.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose as the last of his attraction towards Hinamori faded. "...She's a better person than you..." He said in a low voice, his tone blank. Karin didn't hear him.

"WHAT!?" Hinamori cried again.

"Must I clarify further?" He said irritably, suddenly cross. "I have no interest in you."

She looked up at him and the eyes suddenly lost the fevered look. Rukia's spell, which had steadily gotten weaker, was finally broken. She looked hopelessly at him without saying anything. She did so for a good few seconds, and then a sob, which she unsuccessfully tried to stifle, broke out of her throat. She turned and fled, just as tears gathered at the edges of her eyes. "Gomen..." She muttered sadly as she ran away.

Hitsugaya sighed as she ran out of sight.

"That was a little harsh." Karin said behind him. He turned around to see that she was looking at him with one dark eyebrow raised. He shrugged and walked back to her. "It wasn't her fault, you know, though she's just as crazy about you as the rest of the godforsaken females in this kingdom." She said distastefully.

"As crazy about me as you?" He said with a grin.

"Don't flatter yourself." She replied with a grin of her own.

"My mother would like to meet you." He suddenly said.

"Eh?" She frowned at the sudden change in topic. "Why?"

"Because...you're my choice..." He said simply.

"Eh?" She said again, confused.

He moved a little closer to her, almost unconsciously. "I'd very much like to...ask for your hand...in marriage."

She flushed furiously and looked away. "Y-You'll have to ask I-I-Ichi-N-Nii a-about that." She stuttered nervously and it came out as a shrill cry.

"Does that mean you wouldn't mind?" He asked, eyes twinkling in amusement.

"...I don't...mind." She said, trying to act normal. Hitsugaya's hand lifted up a little and grasped hers, holding it tightly.

"That's good to hear." He whispered as his other arm rose and wrapped about her waist and pulled her closer. Both their hearts were hammering madly within their chests and both thought that the other could hear. Karin stepped closer until she was standing toe to toe with him. He leant down slowly, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Did I hear my name in really high-pitched voice a few seconds ago?" Ichigo suddenly asked loudly. Hitsugaya's arm jerked away from Karin's waist and he abruptly stepped back, also letting go of her hand as he did so.

A vein popped in Karin's forehead. _Oh, my God! Three times! Why...?_ She thought angrily.

"Sorry, did I interrupt?" Ichigo asked mischievously. Both times when he'd intruded upon their moment, he had witnessed what they'd been about to do and the idea discomfited him somewhat so he'd chosen precisely and made his presence known. The thought of his sister...kissing...was just too much. She was just a kid! But he could acknowledge, however hard it had been, that she wouldn't be a child forever.

"Shut up!" Karin snapped. Her brother merely grinned in response. "What d'ya want?" She asked wearily.

"Nothing. Just came to check on what was going on. Hinamori just rushed by a minute or two ago. She was crying." He said.

"She got a rejection." Karin grinned. Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose high as he gazed at the back of her head.

"It ain't very nice to joke at others' expense." Ichigo said seriously.

Karin's grin faded and she sighed. "You're right. Sorry."

"And can I ask what Ojii-sama is here for?" Ichigo said, turning his attention on the young Prince.

"I need to talk with you...concerning your sister." Hitsugaya said solemnly.

One orange eyebrow rose quizzically as Ichigo continued to gaze at the white-haired boy. "By all means." He said.

"Right...um...Kurosaki...Would you please excuse us?" He said to Karin.

"But if this is about me then how come I have to...?!" She started to protest, but Ichigo cut her off.

"Karin, go." He jerked his head the other way, the way he'd come, and she grudgingly began to leave. "Oh, wait, you might as well take the tea stuff if you're goin." He said as she neared him. She huffed indignantly and went back to fetch the tray. After doing so, she sped off.

* * *

"Karin-chan, what happened?!" Yuzu cried as soon as the door to the house open and the dark-haired girl strode in. Various servants also stopped going about their duties to listen.

"N-Nothin!" Karin said, trying to be cheery.

"What happened?" Yuzu's tone turned authoritative as she planted her feet firmly apart with her hands on her hips, barring her sister's path.

"I told you, nothing." Karin said. "Nothing at all." She grinned but it came out all twitchy and wobbly.

"'Nothing' my foot! Tell me what happened." The fair haired girl ordered.

An idea suddenly struck Karin and she deliberately started to shake her hands and the cups on the tray began to rattle dangerously and she made her eyes twitch, also jerking her head about as she did so.

Her sister was so gullible. "KARIN-CHAN! What's happening?!" Yuzu cried in alarm, taking the tray from her twin's shaking hands and putting it on a side table. Karin took the opportunity to escape when the gentler girl's back was turned and rushed up the stairs. "Karin-chan!" Yuzu protested at the foot of the stairs. She harrumphed and puffed one cheek out, showing that she was offended.

Karin grinned and continued on to her room and shut the door, sliding home the bolt of the lock that she'd put up there herself. She fell onto her bed and squealed into her pillow as loudly as she could. She rarely made such "girly" gestures.

Shirou was asking for her hand in marriage! Her heart swelled tremendously at the thought. She almost squealed again.

* * *

Finally thought it was time the two recognised their feelings for one another. Fear not the kiss shall come soon!

Oh, and I know that the Prince wasn't treated like a prince but I have no idea how a person would react if their household was visited by a royal, sorry.


	10. Dinner At The Palace

Alright, I'm turnin someone away from the Hitsu-Hina path! THAT IS AWESOME! Welcome, newcomer :D

ANd thank you to all my reviewers; your comments are much appreciated. And here's an extra long chapter!

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Ichigo asked after Karin was out of sight.

Hitsugaya looked steadily at him and said in a blank tone, "I wish for your sister's hand in marriage."

"Hmm, and what makes you think I'd let my sister go off with you?" Ichigo said, careful to keep his tone level.

One white eyebrow rose as Hitsugaya looked sceptically at the older man. "Well, I am the Prince of this country." He said with a small grin.

"Very funny, but I want to know why you chose my sister." Ichigo said in the same level tone.

Hitsugaya's blue-green gaze suddenly took on a hazy, faraway quality as he looked off into the distance. "Because...She's just about the only one who's ever treated me like a normal person." He said softly.

Ichigo continued to gaze wordlessly at the youth for a time. He sighed. "And how do I know that you won't just chuck her out onto the streets if you get tired of her?"

The Prince's gaze cleared and he snapped back into the present. "Get tired of her? Kurosaki?" He sounded incredulous. "Your sister never fails to surprise me."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"So, you really care for her?"

"The hell kinda question is that? Of course I care about her!"

Ichigo resumed his observation in thoughtful silence. He was wondering what other questions he could ask. _Mom, dad, what do I do?_ He thought sadly. His eyes briefly flickered with regret and he looked away from the Prince. _What should I do? How do I go about givin my kid sister away?_

He finally let out a huge sigh. "Alright, if I asked you to prove that you cared about her, what would you do?" He asked.

Hitsugaya's eyebrows rose a little and he shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I'd accept whatever challenge you set me."

Ichigo couldn't help noting that the Prince didn't talk much like a prince._ I wonder just how much time these two spent together_, he thought. "Alright, if I told you to wear a ridiculous, girly dress and dance in it at the town centre, would you?" He asked with a serious tone.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow shot up. "What?!"

Ichigo looked meaningfully at him.

"Yes, Kurosaki-san." The boy mumbled with a sigh. "I'd do it, for the sake of your sister."

Ichigo couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Alright. But no worries; I'm not gonna ask you to do that, though it would be immensely entertaining." He said thoughtfully.

"Shut up..." Hitsugaya grumbled.

"Ooh, feelin sore now, are we?" Ichigo smirked at the boy.

"Shut up..." The white-haired boy grumbled again.

"Alright, alright! Sorry, didn't mean to hit a nerve!"

"You should stop talking about now." Hitsugaya said coldly.

Ichigo chuckled and shrugged. "My apologies, Ojii-sama." He bowed respectfully.

"Never mind, Kurosaki."

After that, they discussed some of the important aspects of such a union and other matters.

* * *

Karin was invited to come to the palace, and since she didn't have a father and mother, the man of the house was requested to come, along with his wife. Rukia knew that this was an important occasion so she made an effort to get out of bed when Ichigo told her and tried to make herself look presentable, though she still looked a little sick. Ichigo was sorry for his treatment of her but he had convinced himself that if she continued to feel hungry and got ill, then the spirit would leave and then he'd use whatever means necessary to get his wife to be okay again. She had tried to take over his body various times but he knew that she might try that so he'd kept his guard up and he'd fought her off mentally. The real Rukia hadn't been quite as strong. She'd been in mourning that time, because her sister had died not long before, and she had been sinking into depression and her mind 

was constantly weary. One of the reasons why their group of friends had gone to that ruined graveyard was because they'd all wanted to do something out of the ordinary to get Rukia out of her depressed mood. She'd gone into that tomb alone because she'd thought it would have provided some peace and quiet from her friends' rowdiness. Her mind had not been strong at that point and she'd tried vainly to fight against the spirit that had suddenly taken over her.

While she tried to look acceptable, Yuzu was fretting over Karin's appearance and what she'd wear that night. Karin had a very, very limited wardrobe; the dark-haired Kurosaki twin preferred to wear only simple and plain garments. She used to have at least three outfits that she used to use for special occasions but she'd outgrown those years ago. Yuzu offered to lend her one of her numerous outfits and Karin accepted, seeing as though her sister wasn't going to stop pestering her until she had her way. Yuzu was ecstatic that she had her very own, life-size doll whose hair she could play with and apply makeup to and choose outfits for. Karin was not a happy camper.

"Wah, Karin-chan, so cute!" Yuzu cried, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. A vein popped in Karin's forehead as she turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. "TWIN PIGTAILS!?" She thundered as she put her hands to the twin braids that were secured tightly atop her head. "NO WAY! I LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BABY!"

"Aw, but Karin-chan..." Yuzu protested.

"NO!" Karin continued. "TAKE EM OUT!"

"But..."

"NO!"

"Okay..." Yuzu sighed. She led her sister to the chair again and pulled the bands out of her hair and got the brush once more.

Some thirty minutes of squabbling later, Karin agreed that she'd have her hair in a simple high ponytail. Yuzu was not happy about that so she forcefully put makeup on her sister. Karin washed it off when Yuzu was busy with something else. Yuzu found out and then reapplied it, only for her twin to wash it off again so she decided on just putting some base makeup like lipstick (a shade that was very light and barely detectable, upon Karin's instructions) and foundation and eyeliner.

After getting her entire ensemble together, Yuzu thought her sister looked lovely. Karin thought she looked like a clown in a nice dress. She walked down the stairs slowly, afraid she'd slip in the thick-and-high-heeled shoes that her sister had lent to her. Ichigo's eyebrow rose as she came into the foyer.

"What?" She said gruffly, trying to cover up her self-consciousness.

"Nothin, just that you never bother dressin up for other occasions," he said in the same gruff tone. "But you look alright, kid." He offered her a sincere smile and she smiled back.

"Thanks, Ichi-Nii."

"Alright, let's go." He said and walked towards the door, just as a servant announced that the carriage was ready. His arm about his wife's waist tightened as he led her out of the house. She'd stumbled a little and she'd done that at least ten times since she'd come down the stairs.

"Seeya, Yuzu, and if all goes well tonight and Shirou-kun don't think I look like a complete fool, I'll thank you when I get back." Karin said to her twin.

Yuzu looked upset for a moment. "Karin-chan...!"

"Relax, I'm only kidding!" Karin said, punching her sister playfully on the arm.

"Ow..." Yuzu whimpered. Karin rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Thank you, Yuzu." She said with a smile.

Yuzu perked up at that and smiled back at her twin. "Good luck!" She said happily.

Karin thanked her once again and rushed out of the door, being careful to watch where she stepped. She climbed into the coach beside Rukia and they began to move off. She waved to Yuzu from the window as her twin stood in the doorway. She was a little too aware that Rukia had frozen beside her. She sighed.

"Please don't try anything." She said stiffly.

Rukia didn't reply. Karin sighed again. "If you do, then I won't be held accountable for what I do." What concerned her more than the fact that her sister-in-law was trying to take over her was that they were going to the palace, house of the royal family, house of power, basically. Rukia was obsessed with power, how would she react tonight? They were going to be in the presence of the royals, what would she do? What if she tried to possess one of them? Karin hoped that the royal family was strong-minded, especially Shirou. What would she do if Shirou got possessed?

She tried to banish the worrying thoughts from her mind as the journey wore on.

Ichigo had been distracted as of late and his discussion with the Prince earlier had only distracted him more. His arm about Rukia's waist tightened once again. _I wish you were here, mom, dad_, he thought, _Karin's growin up big time._ He sighed as he watched the dark scenery whizz by the carriage window. _How do I know if I made the right choice?_ He looked over to Karin in the dim light and she looked relaxed. An uncharacteristically _honest_ smile played upon her faintly painted lips and he felt some of the weight upon his shoulders lift. If she was happy about it then maybe, just maybe, he was doing something right. He hoped he was. He sighed again and turned his attention back to the window.

* * *

Hitsugaya was, to an extent, excited, but what overshadowed the excitement was whether Kurosaki would make good enough an impression on his mother. He found himself constantly wishing that the black-haired girl had dressed up decently and her speech wouldn't be quite so telling of her nature. He liked Karin and he liked her for whom she was, but if she didn't behave in an appropriate way in the presence of his mother, then his need for Kurosaki would go unfulfilled and he didn't want that.

His mother had given him a _brief_ reprieve and said that he was free to go wherever he wanted, provided that he came down immediately upon the arrival of the guests. He went to his room. His room was on a corner and it had two huge windows that offered views of the entrance of the palace and the landscape that stretched out over the side of the building. He was sitting on the window seat of the one that showed him the entrance. His thoughts were jumbled up in a mess of worry and anticipation. He leant back against the side of the window seat and continued to look out towards the main gates. It wouldn't be long before they were scheduled to arrive, unless they were the type of people who weren't always punctual, and he sincerely hoped not; it wouldn't be a good start to the evening if they arrived even a minute later than the appointed time. Chikako Hitsugaya was a particular person when it came to everything.

He'd left the window open so he clearly heard the sound of a carriage coming up the driveway and it was only when his head jerked up at the sound that he realised he'd dozed off. He jumped up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked outside properly. The carriage was drawing to a steady halt. He dashed out of his room and ran down the more than necessary flights of stairs.

As his feet touched the floor after the last stair, some servants were leading the guests in. They came into view and his eyes met those of Karin Kurosaki. He stopped awhile and looked at her properly. She was dressed quite splendidly and she was wearing subtle makeup. He caught himself thinking she looked amazing. He approached them after forcefully tearing his gaze away from the object of his affection.

"Welcome, Kurosaki-san." He said, first to Ichigo and just gently inclining his head a little in greeting.

"Thank you, Ojii-sama." Ichigo bowed more deeply and smiled at the boy.

Hitsugaya then inclined his head at Rukia, was looked oddly blank but replied with a weak greeting of her own, and then he turned his attention to Karin. "Good evening, Kurosaki-chan."

"Yo." Karin grinned up at him.

Hitsugaya almost fainted. It was like the world suddenly froze collectively. He was glad his mother hadn't been there at that precise moment. _Baka, baka, baka, Kurosaki!_ He thought frantically, his lips set in a straight line and his teeth gritted tightly. "If you would all step this way please." He said, in his most polite tone, as he held his hand out towards the drawing room. They all made their way 

into the room and as they did, Hitsugaya muttered quickly, "Be a little more formal" as he passed by Karin. She looked at him innocently and he sighed.

"Dinner shall be served in a while." He said as he bid them to sit down. They did so. "So..."

"Ah, you have arrived!" His mother walked into the room, followed by a few servants. "The Kurosakis, how pleasant to meet you!" She went around all of them, first pausing at Ichigo and inquiring after his health (to which Ichigo replied uneasily that he was well) and then she moved onto Rukia and commented on the dark circles beneath her eyes ("my dear, are you all right? You look dreadfully tired!") Rukia had smiled and said that she was fine; she just had a tendency to lose sleep sometimes. Chikako had then moved onto Karin.

"Ah, the esteemed Karin Kurosaki, how nice it is to finally meet you." The white-haired lady said.

"Arigato." Karin smiled and bowed deeply.

"You seem to have made quite an impression on my son; he talks of little else." The Queen said.

Karin visibly flushed at that. Hitsugaya hid a small smile as she further squirmed under the watchful gaze of his mother.

His mother went to sit in one of the seats and bid them all to sit down (they had stood up as soon as the Queen came in). "So, Kurosaki-san, what is it that you do?" She asked Ichigo.

"Well, father ran a medical clinic and he urged me to take over the business when I was young." Ichigo replied.

"Ah, a man of the sciences! So, are you very experienced in the field? Pardon me for saying so, but you do look young!" The woman exclaimed.

"Yes, father sent me to study abroad for some years."

"I see." Chikako said, nodding her head understandingly. One eye was on her son and the Kurosaki girl. She was a little amused to see that their gazes were locked on each other and hazy smiles played upon their lips. "So, Kurosaki-chan, do you dance?" She asked, deciding that their staring contest should end.

Karin's gaze drifted from Hitsugaya's to his mother's. "Hai...I do know how to dance." She said.

"But you do not do it very often, am I right?"

"That's right."

"Why not?" The older woman challenged.

Karin grew a little uneasy. She knew she couldn't reply with such a carefree attitude that she didn't like to dance and thought that it was too girly. "Because...I simply haven't much taste for it, your Majesty."

Chikako frowned a little. "I see." She said after a contemplative second or two. "And what do you have a taste for?"

Karin tensed up again. "Um...Well, I like the outdoors..." She said uncertainly. Had she made a mistake in saying that? She sincerely hoped not!

"Oh, the outdoors? What about the outdoors?" Chikako asked.

"Well, the trees!" Karin smiled; she could answer that much truthfully, "And the nature...the feel of the wind on a hot summer's day, the smell of the grass after a rainstorm and the sight of a river on a gusty day." She clamped her mouth shut immediately, hoping she hadn't overdone it with the idiotic Romantic notions. She really did like those things and she'd thought they sounded girly enough to satisfy whatever test that Chikako Hitsugaya had set out.

The Queen chuckled. "You have the makings of a true poet, Kurosaki-chan!" She exclaimed. Karin flushed furiously and fidgeted with her hands in her lap. Hitsugaya smirked.

Dinner was announced right then and the group of them were led to the dining room, which was huge. Karin thought it was rather wasteful how they had such a large table when only three people dined on it at most. And then there was the unused cutlery and such, what a waste indeed, particularly since three quarters of the table would still be empty even after they all sat down.

Hitsugaya was to sit at the end of the table and Ichigo was instructed to sit on his left while Chikako sat on his right. Rukia sat next to Ichigo while Karin sat next to the Queen. The starter was served. For the most part, there was little discussion. Karin would look up sometimes to see Hitsugaya 

looking at her and she'd smile. Other times, Hitsugaya would look up from his dinner and find that she was gazing fixedly at him.

"Oh, Kurosaki-chan, I would very much like for you to stay here tonight." Chikako suddenly said.

Karin froze, as did Ichigo and Hitsugaya. "I'm sorry, your highness?"

"I said I should very much like for you to stay on this night." The Queen repeated. "I am sure you are aware that Toushirou's father is not feeling well and he does not have long to live. He would very much like to meet the woman of his son's choosing, so that is why I would much appreciate it if you could stay the night."

"Um..." Karin looked over at Ichigo, who gave her a subtle shrug. She couldn't refuse outright. This was a royal who was asking her to stay overnight; royals didn't need to ask, that was just a courtesy.

"I suppose there's nothing wrong with the idea." Ichigo said. "Though, she doesn't have her things."

"My dear Kurosaki-san, do not assume me to be so ignorant of your sister's situation; we shall provide all the necessary things she needs for the night." Chikako said authoritatively.

"Of course, your highness." Ichigo said, bowing his head a little.

"If you shall worry about her so much, your wife may remain." Chikako suggested.

"My wife?" Ichigo looked to the blank faced Rukia, who was messing around with her food, having lost her appetite. He didn't think it safe for her to remain in the palace overnight. He himself couldn't stay; he'd have to go and check up on the Clinic tomorrow. He looked to Karin, who shrugged, and sighed. "If my wife wishes to stay, then she may. Rukia?"

Rukia looked up at him and gave him a false smile. "Of course, Ichigo-san, anything you wish."

"We shall drop the two of them off at home tomorrow, possibly after noon. Well, that's sorted!" Chikako exclaimed with a smile.

Karin looked to Hitsugaya with a puzzled gaze. His was equally questioning.

Dinner finished not long after that. Since there was nothing more left to discuss, Ichigo took his leave and bid his sister and wife goodnight, as well as the Queen and her son.

Karin felt a little awkward, to say the least; she couldn't talk to Toushirou normally and she had to keep up an act of politeness and formality. She hated it. Chikako left the three of them in the drawing room after they left the dinner table and said that she needed to refresh herself, 'please excuse me'. Karin didn't get why she couldn't just have said that she needed to use the damn john, which would have been funny.

"So, Ojii-sama..." Karin began uneasily as the door closed. She was all too aware that Rukia was sitting beside her.

"Kurosaki-chan..." Hitsugaya said in the same fashion. "Did you enjoy the meal?"

"Hai." Since Rukia wasn't looking at the two of them, Karin shot Hitsugaya a hopeless look. He shrugged.

"I would very much like to speak with you in private, if that is okay with Kurosaki-san?" Hitsugaya said, motioning to Rukia. She looked up upon being addressed and smiled.

"But of course, Ojii-sama." She said politely.

"Thank you. Kurosaki-chan?" Hitsugaya said, standing up and pointing at the door.

"Hai," Karin said, also standing up and following him to the door.

Upon closing the door, Hitsugaya looked around to make sure that no servants were around and jerked his head down the hall and ran on down the corridor as quickly as possible, Karin followed. They rounded two more corners before Hitsugaya stopped and fished a key out of his pocket and opened the door. He closed the door to the room once they were inside and turned the lights on. The room wasn't a shabby broom closet like Karin had expected but it housed all sorts of boxes and there was plenty of space to move around. Hitsugaya interrupted Karin's observations and turned to her and whispered urgently. "I'm really sorry for makin you go through this but please bear with me."

Karin fixed him with an unwavering gaze and then launched into a sudden rant. "I have no idea what's going on, you have a hella scary mom, I have to watch out for my sister-in-law longer than I'd like, and I have to keep up this pretence that I'm some upper-class woman who has nothing better 

to do than wander around gardens and talk to trees!" She hissed angrily, counting the things off on her fingers for emphasis. "This is not me!"

"Quite down, please!" He whispered, fearful that any servants going by the room would hear. "Look, I didn't know my mother was going to ask you to stay overnight, but all I can deduce is that she's going to be watching out for you; she's going to monitor you until the moment you go to bed and then when you get up in the morning. She's just overcautious. Just keep up the facade for less than sixteen hours, that's all. For my sake, please?" He looked beseechingly at her.

Karin sighed. "I dunno, Shirou-kun; if you really want me as your wife, then shouldn't you let me be me?"

"If you were you in the palace, then my mother wouldn't think twice before she dismissed you!"

"Well, then maybe you made the wrong decision." Karin said firmly, not tearing her gaze away from his.

He sighed and paused to lick his suddenly dry lips. "Look, I don't want anybody else, ok? You're...You're the best thing that ever happened to me." He looked away, not wanting to be caught out after uttering something so sentimental.

Karin flushed and opened her mouth to say something but the door opened suddenly.

"Found you." A voice said teasingly.

Karin jumped at the sound of the voice. "Rukia?" She growled.

"Who else? What're you two lovebirds doing, discussing facades and such?" The petite woman grinned in the near darkness. "I thought I should check on the two of you, who knows what you kids do alone nowadays."

"What do you want?" Karin asked coldly.

Rukia smiled evilly. "You know, Karin Kurosaki, you know what I want..." She took a steady step towards the younger girl and Karin backed up a little, still scowling. Rukia's smile got wider as she took another step forward. Hitsugaya frowned and stepped before Karin.

"What's all this about?" He asked, looking back at Karin.

"You should back away from her." Karin warned, pulling his arm and urging him back, but he shook her off.

Rukia continued to wear her grin and held one hand up and electricity began to whizz about the air around her.

Hitsugaya frowned, "What the...?"

"I told you, have you forgotten already? The whole possessed-by-a-spirit thing?" Karin asked, attempting to push him out of Rukia's range. "Would you fuckin move already?" She hissed.

"No." He said with finality.

"Hitsugaya! Move it!" She ordered, attempting to shift him with all her might. As stiff as his composure was, he stumbled a little and she took the opportunity to go around him and face her sister-in-law. Rukia was still grinning, even wider than before if possible, and the electricity around her slowly picked up its pace.

"Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya whispered crossly.

"Stay out of this." Karin said over her shoulder. She kicked off the sandals that she wore and rolled up the sleeves of her dress.

"Are you going to fight or something?" Hitsugaya asked, suddenly intrigued despite himself.

"You betcha." She grinned. She faced Rukia, who was gazing at her with a raised eyebrow, "What're you lookin at?" Karin said roughly, "I'll stop you, whatever it is you're planning on doin."

"But you're not the focus of my "plan"." Rukia said calmly.

Karin's brow furrowed as the petite woman suddenly thrust her hand out. Too late, Karin realised that Hitsugaya was the one her sister-in-law was going to use. The electricity didn't do him any harm. Instead, it went through his head but didn't come out of the other side. Electricity proceeded to whizz about his entire frame and he swayed for a second or two.

"Now..." Rukia said lowly in her echoing-growly voice of persuasion, "...Kill Karin Kurosaki...and then we can move up from there..."

Karin stared as Hitsugaya's eyes lost all animation and went flat. "Hai." He said in a flat tone. The last of the electricity faded.

"Your time has come, Kurosaki, say goodbye." Rukia said bitterly as she stood back and observed.

"Hitsugaya?" Karin said softly as he started to move towards her. She took a step back but he still kept moving. "Ojii-sama?" She said uncertainly. "Toushirou?" Still, there was no response. "Shirou-kun?" There was still nothing. Her heart started to beat a little frantically as she realised fully that he was under the control of Rukia. He would do whatever she said. _No, no, no, no, no!_ She screamed within her mind as his fist came towards her. He had no weapon to use so he would have to use his knowledge of the Martial Arts; he'd beat her to death, basically. Karin dodged the attack. "Shirou-kun, snap out of it, please!" She cried, dodging another blow.

"It's no good, he can't hear you!" Rukia said gleefully.

"I swear I will kill you for this, bitch!" Karin muttered angrily. _Just lemme get out of this predicament first_, she thought in panic, ducking for cover as a leg came flying at her. "Fuck!" She stood up. She couldn't keep dodging forever; she had to fight back. She'd learnt everything that she knew about almost everything from Ichigo and that included fighting. Her brother had always been a rebel, even when he was younger and he'd often get picked on because of that (and his hair colour) so their parents had decided to get him to channel his frustration and rebelliousness and enrolled him in the nearest dojo. He'd been the top student and after their mother's death, as part of looking out for his sisters and helping them however he could, he'd taught Karin how to fight. Yuzu hadn't been too keen on the idea so she'd declined the offer. Karin had been a good enthusiastic pupil and she'd perfected every technique that she'd been taught, often incorporating her brother's attacks with her own unique style.

_But I can't attack Shirou-kun!_ She protested to herself.

_But he's got to admit defeat in order for her spell to wear off_, a voice said in the back of her mind. This was the voice of reason and Karin seldom listened to it but right now, it was really starting to sound _reasonable_.

_That might work_, she thought. The idea made her pause a second and her guard came down and she got punched across the jaw. She hissed in pain and immediately jumped back before Hitsugaya could attack again. "Shit...!" She muttered, clutching her jaw. Hitsugaya thrust a punch at her this time and, instead of ducking or dodging, she blocked it. This seemed to surprise the inanimate Hitsugaya as his head rose just a little. This ignited a little hope in Karin's heart but it died again as he aimed once more. She blocked his next punch too and aimed her own attack. He easily dodged it and dropped to the ground and made to kick her off her feet but she jumped up just as his foot was about to make contact with her shins.

As their fight continued, Karin chanced to catch a sight of Rukia out of the corner of her eye. The petite woman was smiling, as if she was immensely entertained and Karin scowled. She would not let Rukia have the satisfaction of getting the power that she sought and, in order to stop that, Karin had to save Hitsugaya first. This fight was useless; they were cancelling each other out but Hitsugaya would keep on going until he passed out from sheer exhaustion whereas she wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer. Her breath was already becoming laboured. She didn't have a hope of beating him at this fight.

Perchance, as the fight wore on and Karin dodged and ducked and blocked all the blows that Hitsugaya delivered, her mind strayed to her family. She hoped Ichigo was okay, and Yuzu. She hoped that if she lost this and failed them and everyone else in this kingdom, then they'd be okay at the least. She was so glad that she finally had her real brother and sister back. She had the best family in the world, especially her brother, who had put his controlling wife aside and gone to seek her out that other time.

_Wait!_ She thought suddenly. Ichigo had been under Rukia's control then so how had he been able to break out of it and go against her wishes? He'd said he'd wanted to apologize to her. And he'd been glad when she'd come back home. So maybe, if it wasn't too presumptuous of her, Ichigo's worry for her had helped him break out of Rukia's control? It was a possibility. So, what about Shirou? He said she was the best thing that ever happened to him. So, could she build on that in any way? What would really grab his attention and get him to fight off Rukia's mind-control? "Shirou-kun?" She suddenly stopped as he attacked again. Both were breathing pretty heavily now. Hitsugaya paused momentarily, surprised that she wasn't attacking or defending. That was enough proof for her that, _somewhere_ in there, Hitsugaya was paying attention. "I...I love you." She said softly. The fist that had been raised ready for attack suddenly unfurled at her words and his blank gaze flickered from unanimated to animated to unanimated again.

"What's going on!?" Rukia cried, though she had enough sense not to be too loud, after all, what would happen if some of the servants found out that they were in here and discovered a dead Karin Kurosaki? "Kill her!"

Hitsugaya's eyes stayed unanimated and the relief in Karin's heart abruptly faded. "Shirou-kun...?" She said hesitantly.

He thrust his fist at her face and she barely managed to avoid it. She felt the air rush by her cheek as his hand streaked past. _Damn, what now? WHAT DO I DO?_ She cried desperately into her mind as she backed up.

He came charging at her suddenly, his strides long and his expression blank and fists raised.

And it suddenly came to her, like a revelation, what she should do.

She stayed still as he came bounding at her and when he was close enough, she threw herself at him, her arms winding about his neck. His punches were useless at such a close range. She leant into him and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes as she did so.

"NO!" Rukia hissed. "Kill her! Kill Kurosaki!"

But she was ignored. Karin's eyes remained closed as the unresponsive, stiff lips that she kissed became a little livelier and kissed back. She didn't open her eyes but she smiled through the kiss. Hitsugaya's arms suddenly wrapped about her waist and held her close. They savoured one another, finally able to express their feelings through the gesture, as they had waited so long to do so. They were both still panting quite heavily from their fight but they continued to kiss for a good few seconds.

They broke away slowly, feeling the breath of the other rush into their mouth as they took in air desperately. Hitsugaya's eyes opened, as did Karin's, and their gazes met and they smiled.

A screech from behind brought them back to reality and they turned around abruptly, letting go of one another. Rukia was glaring at the two of them with undisguised hatred.

"You little..." She began, talking to Karin.

"Save it." Karin said, charging at her and punching her across the head. Rukia was so fragile; she fell immediately.

"Nicely done." Hitsugaya said, impressed, walking up behind her. "But how do we go about explaining this if we get discovered?"

"Um...I haven't a clue. I'll think of something." Karin said, rolling her sleeves down and slipping her sandals back on again. "Help me get her up." She said, going over to the fallen woman and grasping one of her arms and slinging it about her shoulders. She lifted the petite woman up easily. "Whoa, she's real light." _Small wonder_, she thought, _she's barely eaten in almost a week_.

"Need any help?" Hitsugaya asked.

"No, it's alright." She said, walking slowly towards the door. "Say, what's with this room? It don't look like much from the front." She looked around again at the clean floors and the numerous boxes.

He shrugged in response, "It's just one of the rooms in the palace where I go to in order to get away from everyone else."

"In here?" She asked uncertainly.

He shrugged again as he opened the door and turned the lights out. He stuck his head out of the doorframe and peered out. The coast was clear. "Come on." He whispered.

"Right." Karin said, starting after him.

They kept walking cautiously. If they were discovered by the Queen is a dimly lit corridor with an unconscious Rukia leaning on Karin, the situation would not look too good.

They were almost back to the drawing room when they were confronted with the Queen.

"Toushirou! Kurosaki-chan! What happened?" Chikako looked worriedly at Rukia and then turned an accusatory gaze on her son.

"Um...Well, your Majesty, my sister-in-law began to feel a little faint while we were sitting and we left the room senselessly without asking for the whereabouts of the lavatory. We do beg your pardon." Karin bowed deeply before the white-haired woman, taking Rukia down with her.

"So, I went to look for them because they hadn't returned in quite some time and found them some corridors off, lost." Hitsugaya added blankly.

Chikako frowned at them, not sure if what they said was true but then she surmised that they had no reason to be false so she decided that she'd let them off. "And what did you say happened to your sister-in-law?" She asked curiously.

"Well, she has periods of weakness when she's likely to drift off to sleep. She gets tired easily." Karin explained seriously.

"Hmm...I see," Chikako called a maid over and told her to help Karin take Rukia to a room upstairs.

"Hai, your Majesty." The maid said as she came over and bowed. She went over to Karin and took the unmoving arm of Rukia and slung it about her shoulders. "If you would come this way, Kurosaki-san." She said as she began leading them towards the stairs.

"Of course, thank you." Karin smiled at the maid and they walked on. Karin looked back at Hitsugaya and winked while his mother wasn't looking. Hitsugaya's eyebrow rose in response but a grin tugged at the corners of his lips nevertheless.

"Toushirou, I would very much like to discuss this girl with you." Chikako said as soon as Karin was out of earshot.

"Hai, Okaa-sama." Hitsugaya said.

"Step inside please." She said, pushing the door to the drawing room open and ushering him in. She closed the door after they were both in and turned to her son. "Right, how did you meet Karin Kurosaki?" She asked.

"We have the same chill out spot." He grinned, not mindful of the fact that he'd used a colloquial.

"You have the same _what_?" She asked, eyes narrowed.

"Chill out spot; the same place where we go to unwind." He explained.

"And why did you never inform me of this little "chill out spot"?" She questioned.

He shrugged. "I didn't think I'd have to inform you _every_ time I went out to the town."

"And did you have any bodyguards with you?" She asked.

He looked away and sighed. "No."

"WHAT?!" She exclaimed. "You know you are not supposed to go out anywhere without your bodyguards!"

Hitsugaya looked to her and held her gaze evenly. "Don't you think, Okaa-sama, that the point of all the lessons in Martial Arts and swordsmanship were supposed to be so that I could defend myself in the unlikely incident that I got attacked?" He said blankly.

"Toushirou...!" She began irritably, but she trailed off and sighed. "The lessons in Martial Arts were supposed to be a last resort if you did get attacked; the bodyguards are there to look after you."

"I'm eighteen years old!" He exclaimed suddenly. "I'm perfectly able to look after myself!"

"You will not take that tone with me!" Chikako said crossly.

"Okaa-sama, don't you think it's time you stop fretting over everything I do?" Hitsugaya said with another sigh. "If you really expect me to run a whole country, then shouldn't you be treating me like I'm my own person?"

"Of course, but I cannot just give up being your mother overnight, Toushirou," She said softly, "And I know you may think it unreasonable to ask your future wife here to stay all of a sudden but understand that I cannot just place you in her arms without ascertaining that she'll take good care of you."

"Okaa-sama!" Hitsugaya exclaimed as a small flush crept up his cheeks. "I'm not an object!"

"Of course not, dear." She said without much conviction. "So, tell me more about her. What does she like?"

Hitsugaya's flush subsided and he shrugged. "She likes to climb trees, she likes to play tag and she loves her family."

"And that is all well and good, Shirou-chan, but what does she feel towards you? How do you know she genuinely cares for you?" Chikako asked seriously.

"Cuz I know her." He replied distantly.

"_Cuz"?_ Chikako thought with a raised eyebrow. What was wrong with her son's speech? He was talking like...like a common person. "Why are you talking like a commoner?" She asked.

"Eh?" He looked back at her in puzzlement. "In what way do I talk like a commoner?"

"Where are you picking up these habits?" She asked disapprovingly.

"I have no idea what you mean, Okaa-sama." He said.

* * *

Upstairs, in one of the many spare bedrooms, Karin and the maid laid Rukia onto the bed and after pulling the sheets over her, they left.

Once downstairs, the maid knocked on the door of the drawing room. The door opened, revealing Chikako Hitsugaya and her son both wearing frowns. They cleared up as soon as they saw Karin. "Ah, Kurosaki-chan, welcome!" Chikako held the door open and Karin came in, bowing as she did. "Make some tea." Chikako ordered the maid. "For three."

"Hai, Hitsugaya-sama." The maid bowed and left.

"Right, I shall have to leave the two of you soon; some matters require my immediate attention." Chikako said as she sat down.

She asked the two of them numerous questions and they answered truthfully to the best of their abilities. When the tea was served, she bid them to move closer to her and made sure that they were sitting together and monitored the uneasiness they felt at being so close in her presence. She found it rather amusing. She left them sitting together when she left some time later, telling them not to go to sleep too late.

"So..." Karin began, turning to face him.

"So...what?" He said, also turning a little to face her.

"Quite an eventful evening, no?" She asked.

"Damn straight."

"Yup." _No doubt; came to the palace for dinner, was asked to stay the night, had a proper fight with the Prince, confessed my feelings for the Prince, kissed the Prince, beat my sister-in-law up; all in time to have a nice cuppa tea before bed_, she thought with a weary sigh.

"You need to do something before she runs amok." Hitsugaya said.

"But what?" Karin said in exasperation. "She's not really supposed to leave Ichigo's side for too long; usually she stays in her bedroom."

"Yeah, but you can't keep going like this." Hitsugaya said in response.

She sighed again. "I know, but how are we going to do this?"

"Exorcism?" He suggested.

"Yeah, but then what?" She asked. "The spirit's gonna leave Rukia's body and just enter somebody else's. She's already tried to possess various other people."

"You'll get through this." He whispered reassuringly. His leant forward, eyes closing as he did, and met her lips with his own. He grasped the back of her head and pulled her in further and she ran her hands through the thick strands of his white hair. "I love you..." He said softly, "And I believe in you..."

She flushed at that and embraced him. "Arigato...Domo Arigato...Shirou-kun." He smiled and held her tightly. "I love you too..." She said, still flushing.


	11. Kaito Hitsugaya The King

Ya know, I can't remember who it was, but someone said this story was a little far-fetched...er...this is a _make-belief fairy tale_...I would have thought that those types of stories were as far-fetched as you could get :D

Anyway, I thank all ye for the positive reviews that you have been leaving for moi to read, if anyone has any comments on my writing style, please feel free to diss me or whatever cuz I do post my stories here to get as much constructive criticism as possible.

Karin wasn't used to having servants at her beck and call; she liked to do her necessary jobs herself. Back at home, the servants that Ichigo had employed had been there for years and years and they were only expected to help with dinner, cleaning the house and washing. They weren't expected to call on _every_ need of the people of the house and they didn't actually stay at the house; they went back home every evening. The palace was swarming with various maids and servants 24/7 and Karin was raised early by an incessant knocking on the door. She answered groggily and a pretty maid with long orange-brown hair and a rather abundant chest came in with a towel and a garment draped over her arm.

"Come, Kurosaki-san, her Highness Hitsugaya-sama said it is time that you came down; breakfast shall be served in a while." The maid smiled and laid the items over her arm at the edge of the bed and then proceeded to pull the bedcovers off Karin.

"Wha...!" Karin cried, attempting to cover up her bare legs in the short nightdress that she wore.

"Come, come, there is no time to dawdle." The maid said gently. Karin tried to get the bedcovers back but the maid was adamant.

"Please, I'm really tired." Karin complained.

"That's nothing a refreshing bath won't cure, Kurosaki-san." The maid informed.

"But I wanna sleep..." Karin protested.

The maid tutted, "come along now, there isn't much time to waste; Hitsugaya-sama is very particular about punctuality. Please hurry."

After a few more minutes of nagging (on the maid's part) Karin got out of bed and went to the en-suite bathroom and took the towel and the kimono (which she didn't like all that much because it was a soft baby pink colour; pink was a _girly_ colour in her opinion) with her.

When she came back out, the maid was still waiting and she took the towel from her and gave her hair a thorough ruffle and then pushed Karin down on the chair before the dresser and brushed her hair, being careful to be gentle.

"You don't need to do this; I'm perfectly capable of making myself look presentable." Karin protested.

"Ah, but Hitsugaya-sama wished for me to personally see to it that Kurosaki-san looks "presentable"." The maid smiled.

"Please call me Karin...Or just Kurosaki." Karin said uneasily. She didn't like how the servants referred to her with such formality. Karin wasn't the formal type.

"Oh but I couldn't!" The maid exclaimed.

"Why?" Karin asked. The maid shrugged and looked away. "Because I'm going to be the wife of the Prince?" Karin asked. Uneasily, the maid nodded. Karin sighed. "I'm not as different from you as you may think." The orange haired woman looked back at Karin through the mirror in surprise, surprise that the future wife of the Prince would think of herself as similar to her, a lowly maid.

"What do you mean, Kurosaki-san?" She asked.

Karin sighed wearily. "I told you, it's Karin." She said firmly. She didn't answer the question. This wasn't lost on the maid but she didn't comment on it.

"But, Kurosaki-sa..."

"It's Karin."

"But..."

"Karin." Karin raised her eyebrows at the maid and grinned. "Or Kurosaki, whichever you prefer and don't gimme all that bollocks about respect."

The maid's eyes grew to the size of saucers at the expletive. This was coming from the future Queen of their country? "H-Hai...Karin-san..."

Karin sighed in exasperation, "Bloody hell...alright fine, what's your name?"

"Orihime Inoue." The maid bowed respectfully.

"Nice to meet you, Inoue-san." Karin said just as respectfully. Orihime seemed to grow uneasy at that so Karin smirked. "See?" She said with a cocked eyebrow. "It don't seem right, does it?"

Orihime stared in speechless surprise at the dark-haired girl before her.

"Just call me Karin." Karin winked at Orihime through the mirror. Orihime looked bewildered.

* * *

Rukia was likewise attended to by the same maid after Orihime had finished with Karin, and unlike her sister-in-law; she cared nothing for the one who attended to her. She expected nothing less.

She had thought a lot about what had happened yesterday and she was quite angry about it. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands about the throat of Karin Kurosaki and slowly squeeze the life out of the girl. But she'd wait. She didn't have the strength to kill anybody right now._ Damn those Kurosakis_. She thought bitterly. They had weakened her greatly in the vain hope that she'd leave this flesh body behind, but she wouldn't. She had a link with the royal family now but Karin wouldn't hesitate to beat the life out of her if she even suggested any harmful intention. The dark-haired girl was short-tempered, to say the least. Rukia didn't want to get hurt in her pursuit of power.

She would go about her quest with caution, so maybe it would be best to gain her strength and wait for the wedding of the Prince and Karin? But how was she going to get stronger if she was basically a prisoner in her own home?

_How about leaving this body?_ She mused. _Find another temporary body and when the time comes, I shall take control of this body once again. By then, maybe Ichigo Kurosaki will treat his real wife normally? If that is to be the case, then all the better for me_. She smirked evilly to herself. _This family is going to be linked with the ruling family and I shall be the one controlling both of them_.

She decided to leave the choosing of a new flesh body until later, when she was more aware of events and had more reliable people to possess. After all, she had time; the wedding could be weeks or even months away.

* * *

Hitsugaya was already sitting at the breakfast table, awaiting the arrival of the three other women who were due to be there. He was usually the first one at the table because he was an early riser. Karin came down after a few minutes, led into the room by a servant. The servant bowed to the Prince and Karin and then excused himself. Karin stifled a huge yawn as she went to sit on the chair on the left of Hitsugaya, who sat at the head of the table.

"Tired much?" He said good-naturedly.

"I guess..." She yawned again as she spoke, "...So" She rubbed her eyes and smiled at him. "How's it goin?"

"Good." He smiled back. "You have a nice night?"

She shrugged. "Was too tired to care much. Slept like a donkey." She grinned as she stretched luxuriously.

Hitsugaya was going to retort but he was interrupted by the arrival of Rukia, walking smugly ahead of an orange-headed maid.

"Oh, yo, Inoue-san." Karin said to the maid, raising her hand in greeting. The maid flushed furiously as she bowed to first the Prince and then Karin. Hitsugaya looked from one to the other questioningly. The maid left immediately in the direction of the kitchens.

There was silence in the room as nobody spoke. Rukia looked straight ahead with a carefully blank expression and didn't say anything at all to the two youths. Karin and Hitsugaya looked to one another and shrugged.

"Ah, I see you're all here!" Chikako Hitsugaya strode into the room and announced her sudden presence loudly. "Sorry I'm late." She said as she took a seat on her son's right. "So, Kurosaki-san how was your night?" She asked Rukia.

"It was well, your Highness." Rukia said as she smiled at the Queen.

"That is good to hear. And what about you, Kurosaki-chan?" Chikako asked, turning to Karin sitting opposite her.

"It was good, thank you." Karin smiled. "Um...I have a small request." She said, looking uncomfortable.

Chikako's white eyebrow rose marginally, "Please, state it."

"Please call me Karin."

Chikako broke out into a smile. "Very well, my dear, Karin it is."

Breakfast was served after a few moments. The servants went about pouring tea in the cups that they placed before the ones sitting at the table. Everyone began to eat. Hitsugaya was staring into the bowl before him, swirling the milk in it with a hazy smile on his lips when he suddenly felt a pinch around his ankle. He looked up and saw at that Karin was smiling innocently. His eyes narrowed and she shrugged her shoulders with her hands splayed in puzzlement. His eyes narrowed further and he looked around to see how he could get his own back. There was nothing available so he settled for sticking his tongue out. He was glad there were no other servants about and that his mother and Rukia Kurosaki were both looking down.

At the incredulity of the gesture, Karin began to chuckle but stopped herself as she remembered where she was. But a little bit of sound managed to escape her lips and Chikako Hitsugaya looked up at her questioningly.

"Something wrong, Karin?" She asked.

"Oh...err, no, your Majesty...I was just clearing my throat." She promptly cleared her throat and went back to her breakfast. Hitsugaya smirked when his mother went back to her own meal. Karin frowned at him. Under the table, her warm socked foot alighted upon the flesh of his shin, beneath the material of the pants that he wore. He smiled as her foot moved slowly up and down. Their gazes locked and they continued to look at one another, forgetting that there were other people within the room.

"Ahem!"

The two snapped out of their staring and looked at the source of the throat clearing. Chikako Hitsugaya was looking at the two of them with an amused expression on her face. The two felt a flush creep up their cheeks.

"Now that I have your attention," Chikako said, "I would like to say that Toushirou's father would like to meet you today, Karin-chan."  
"Hai." Karin said.

"And because you are going to be a part of this family, I would like you to have a personal maid." Chikako continued.

Karin blanked. "Um...That...That isn't necessary, your Majesty." She stammered.

"Ah, but I insist." The older woman stated. "And I shall introduce you to her immediately. Orihime!" She called.

The maid who had come in earlier with Rukia emerged out of the kitchens and bowed. "Hai, Hitsugaya-sama?" She said politely.

"I would like you to keep the company of Karin-chan here." Chikako said, pointing at Karin with a fancy hand gesture.

"Hai."

"You are to go with her at all times. We shall organise the details of the wedding in a few weeks and until then, you shall be attending to Karin-chan at her home."

Karin's head jerked up at that. She was about to protest but Hitsugaya caught her eye and shook his head with a sigh. She stayed quiet.

"But...Your Majesty..." Orihime began hesitantly.

"If it is your payment you are concerned about, then you needn't worry." The Queen said.

"Um...it's not...that..." Orihime said, looking down.

"Then what is it?" The Queen asked impatiently.

Orihime flushed, "N-Nothing, Hitsugaya-sama."

"Right, well you better go and get your things because you are going to be with the Kurosakis for a few weeks." Chikako said.

"Hai," Orihime said and she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

"The King seeks an audience with you." Chikako said to Karin. "Just you and Toushirou alone. You will both go up to meet with him after breakfast is done."

Karin dreaded the prospect but she gulped and smiled. "Hai," Both she and Toshirou said simultaneously.

* * *

"Would you please stop fidgeting?" Hitsugaya said for the hundredth time since breakfast.

Karin stopped biting her nails and proceeded to wring her hands. "I can't help it; I'm nervous." She said quickly.

Hitsugaya sighed in exasperation. "Calm down; my father is not a harsh man."

"It's not that." She said. "I...Um...I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!" She looked to him pleadingly.

He took her hand within his own and reassuringly patted it with his other. "Don't worry; just answer whatever father asks you and try not to show you're nervous." He said. "This way." He pointed down the hall as they reached the top of the stairs. There were no maids or servants swarming around here. It was very quiet. Karin took deep breaths in an effort to calm down and it helped somewhat. She was going to meet the King! That thought immediately brought back the nervousness. Who would have ever thought that Karin Kurosaki, rebel extraordinaire, would be meeting with the King?_ And who'd have thought Karin Kurosaki would be the future wife of the Prince_, she thought with amusement. Fate sure was a strange thing; first she was bullied by her family and then she was thrust into the arms of the Monarch-in-waiting. But then what, what would happen after that? She had said to Shirou that she wasn't suited to the role of being a royal's wife, or just a wife, period. "Ne, Shirou-kun, what are we going to do after this...marriage?" She asked quietly.

He looked back over his shoulder and paused. "I dunno. Normal...marriage stuff?"

"Normal marriage stuff?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell would that be then?"

He shrugged. "Why?"

She walked up to him and reached for his hand again. "You know what I'm like...right?"

"I guess." He smiled as her hand slipped into his.

"Remember that time when I said I ain't wife material?" She asked. He nodded. "Well, what am I gonna do? I don't belong here." Her expression was beseeching. "I can't...be like your mother. I can't readily accept this role."

He gazed at her steadily. "We'll talk about this later, ok?" He said softly.

"Sure." She said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a quick kiss to her cheek. "Let's go."

They walked to a room with closed double doors. Hitsugaya slowly turned the doorknob and swung the door away from him. They entered the room and Karin stopped to look around in amazement.

Everything was decked in finery and the dresser and wardrobe were all made of rich mahogany. The massive bed that jutted out of the farther wall of the bedroom was also made of mahogany and it was covered in silken burgundy sheets. The floor was covered in a thick, rich wine-red coloured carpet.

"No time to gawk, come on." Hitsugaya said quietly, taking her hand again and leading her over to the bed, where a figure was laying still beneath the sheets. "Otou-sama?" Hitsugaya said gently.

The figure under the sheets stirred a little and the covers shifted back. "Toushirou...?" A weak voice said as an equally weak-looking face appeared amid the folds of the bed sheets.

Karin was taken aback by how pale and sickly the King looked. She'd only seen him once before, in his carriage as he'd been riding through the outskirts of town, on his way to some city up yonder. That had only been two years previous. He'd looked so healthy and full of life then, now he looked like he was barely alive.

Karin felt her heartstrings being pulled viciously. Her father had gone suddenly but what was Toushirou feeling right now? His father was slowly ebbing away and the path to the throne was becoming clear by the minute and he wasn't ready for it. She could tell he wasn't ready to rule a nation. Not just yet.

"Good morning, Otou-sama." Hitsugaya bowed deeply and Karin did likewise.

"Hello, Toushirou. And who's this?" The King asked weakly, looking over to Karin.

"K-Karin Kurosaki, your Highness. Pleased to meet you." Karin said humbly, bowing once again.

"Ah...I see." The King gave a weak smile. "My son's future wife. Sit down, kids." He waved a hand feebly towards some chairs against the wall. Hitsugaya immediately went over to them and dragged two of them towards the bed. He sat down but Karin remained standing, until he grasped her hand and forcefully pulled her down. Kaito Hitsugaya grinned a small, secret grin. "So, Karin-chan, tell me, how is it that the two of you met?" He asked. Promptly started a coughing fit and it shook his entire frame.

"Otou-sama!" Hitsugaya exclaimed. He shot out of the chair and immediately grasped a glass of water on the bedside table.

"I'm..." The King cleared his throat and coughed again, "...Fine, Toushirou."

Hitsugaya gazed uncertainly at his father and then sighed and put the glass back on the bedside table, before taking a seat again.

"Alright, how about answering that question then?" Kaito asked.

"Um...We met through the...um...visitation of the same...place." Karin stammered.

The King coughed lightly before fixing his dark-eyed gaze on her once more. "Oh? And what sort of...place is this?" He asked in a strained voice.

"Um...Just a deserted field." She replied uncomfortably. She looked to Hitsugaya cautiously, wondering if it was okay for her to have given up their secret hideout just like that. Hitsugaya was looking straight ahead.

"A field? And why a field, pray tell?" Kaito asked.

She shrugged unconsciously and then thought the gesture too informal and flushed at her mistake. It went unnoticed. "Um...I like...nature." She replied, ill at ease.

"I see." He then shifted his gaze to his son. "And what about you, Toshirou? Why a field?"

"I simply needed a brief reprieve from the eagerness of the townspeople." Hitsugaya answered solemnly.

Kaito sighed. "Son, how can you expect to be a good...(_cough_)...king if you shun the citizens?"

Hitsugaya looked down. "I'm sorry, father."

"Don't worry about it, kid." Kaito grinned weakly.

Karin couldn't help but notice that the King's style of speech was more laidback than the Queen's. Everybody always used to say that Kaito Hitsugaya was a good king and that he had a good heart in him and he genuinely cared. She had frowned at that; for what good king allowed for there to be boundaries in the society that he ruled? She had been under the impression that he was just as bad as all the other nobles in the upper classes. But she'd now learnt to appreciate that every once in a while, there came along a person who was at least part humanitarian. And that humanitarian may not be all heroic and his motto wouldn't necessarily be "steal from the rich and give to the poor" but he at least cared, whereas some people couldn't even do that.

She's always had fantasies (back _before_ she became hardy and boyish) that she'd grow up to fall in love with a boy who cared for the lower classes and they'd get married and _help_ people. Needless to say, she had been a little bit naive; nobody would so readily give themselves to helping the disadvantaged. In life, there would always be those who were at an advantage in society and those who weren't; that was just the way it was. She had learnt that a while ago, when her father died and Ichigo came back home with Rukia. But she at least had part of her fantasy; she had fallen in love with a boy who _cared_.

"But you'll be a good king, son." The King said softly.

Hitsugaya continued to look down but Karin saw a small smile playing upon his lips. "Arigato Gozaimasu, Otou-sama." He said in an equally soft tone, bowing his head.

"Take good care of my son, Karin-chan." The King whispered hoarsely before he began to cough again. He sounded terrible. "You...You may leave. And you have my complete blessings." He said in strained voice. "I wish the two of you long and prosperous lives."

Hitsugaya and Karin promptly stood up and bowed deeply once again. "Arigato, your Majesty." They both said simultaneously. They quietly left the room.

"You ok?" Karin asked softly as Hitsugaya closed the door behind them.

He nodded wordlessly.

"Hey," She reached a hand out and grasped his, making his stop. "It's ok, you know." She whispered.

"What's ok?" He asked, raising his gaze up to meet hers.

"To share." She replied. She stepped a little closer to him and looked up at him gravely. "You shouldn't hold everything in; it's not healthy."

His eyebrow rose at that. "How about you take your own advice, Kurosaki?" He asked sceptically.

"I don't need to hold anything in, Shirou-kun," She said, "Cuz everythin that bugged me is out in the open now. You know all about me, but you've never told me about you." She lifted her arms up and draped them over his shoulders.

"There's nothing to tell." He said in response. His arms wound about her waist and he held her loosely.

"Actually," she said in disagreement, "I think there's a lot to tell."

"Do you think you know me?" He asked softly.

"No, and that's the point; I know little about you. I know you're a good guy but I don't know you any more than that." She said. "I don't know what type of food you like; I don't know whether you like poetry or not, I don't know whether you're the Romantic typa guy and I don't know what you do in your spare time and I'd like to know, and I'd like to know _before_ I become your wife, if possible." She looked intently up at him, willing him to understand that, although her statements may have sounded ridiculous and trivial, she wanted to get to know him.

A corner of his mouth lifted up and he moved a little closer to her until their lips were almost touching. "All in good time..._Karin_." And with that, he kissed her. Her hold about him tightened and so did his. She felt pleasantly surprised that he'd called her by her name, it felt more personal. He smiled as he broke away and leant his forehead against hers. "Just stick with me a little more and you'll find out all you need to know." He whispered.

"I look forward to it." She whispered back.


	12. The Ride Home

OK, been slackin with this story but I did get it to you guys within the usual four-day-update rate :D I'm so proud of myself

And thank you to everyone for reviewing my stories but if you have any problems with my word choices or other things concerning the writing, please be more clear in the way you express just what you think is wrong with my writing style, for me as a writer, I need to know, right?

After noon, Chikako Hitsugaya got two carriages ready to take Karin, Rukia and the maid Orihime Inoue back to the Kurosaki house. The reason why she had ordered for there to be two was because she wanted her son to travel with Karin alone. She understood that her son and Karin didn't get to spend all that much time together so she wanted to give them this golden opportunity to get to know one another better.

"Um...Arigato Gozaimasu, Hitsugaya-sama." Karin said as they stood at the exit, ready to leave. She bowed deeply to the Queen.

"You are most welcome, dear." Chikako smiled at the girl and straightened her up by the shoulders. "And there's no need to be so formal anymore; you are going to be an accepted member of this household so I suggest you start referring to me as "mother"." She said.

Karin stared at the woman in confusion. Was she hearing right? Chikako Hitsugaya wanted Karin to call her "mother"? "H-Hai, Okaa-sama." She said, bowing once again.

"There, better. We, at the palace, shall be looking forward to your return here as the daughter-in-law of this household."

Karin flushed at that and bowed again, heartened greatly by the Queen's comment. "Hai."

Rukia, Orihime, Karin and Hitsugaya made their way out of the palace and into the royal carriages that waited. Hitsugaya helped Karin into one of them while Rukia and Orihime climbed into the other one. Karin was somewhat gladdened to see that there were thick curtains over the windows to hide her from view. People flocked about the royal carriages when any member of the royal family went outside into the town and it was annoying to _watch_. How would it feel to be inside this thing when the townsfolk did that?

"You ok?" Hitsugaya asked, taking a seat beside her.

"Yeah." She replied. She sidled closer to him and grasped his hand. She breathed out deeply and leant against him.

"What was that huge sigh for?" He asked, running a hand through her dark hair.

"Nothin." She said as she let go of his hand and wrapped her arms about his middle. "It's been a momentous day."

"At least you were approved." He said.

"...Would you still agree to marry me if I hadn't been?" She asked, looking up at him.

"...I dunno." He shrugged. "But you made a good impression and it worked out fine."

"Your parents don't know the real me." She said.

"Isn't it enough that _I_ know the real you?" He asked softly.

She smiled at that. "Yeah, I guess it is."

They remained in an embrace for a few long seconds. Karin got a little uncomfortable with her position after a while and broke away and swung her legs up onto the seats of the carriage and laid her head on Hitsugaya's lap. She smiled up at him.

"Tired much?" He asked, brushing a stray strand of black hair back from her face.

"Not really," she said as she tried to unsuccessfully stifle a yawn.

"We've got a forty-five minute ride ahead of us; you can sleep if you want." He said, tracing a finger along her scalp.

"No, that's ok."

"Sure?"

"Yup."

They lapsed into silence and despite the fact that Karin had said that she wasn't tired; her eyelids still began to droop. She blinked a couple of times to clear the sleep from her eyes but it did no good. Hitsugaya was looking ahead of the carriage so he didn't see her slip off into slumber land. When he did look down at her after a while, he paused and then smiled. He shifted her carefully so as not to wake her and slipped her onto his lap. She stirred a little and slung her arms around his shoulders and laid her head against his shoulder.

_Tired much? "Not really" she says,_ he thought dryly as he gazed steadily at her.

* * *

"Karin." Hitsugaya gently shook her but she didn't stir. "Come on, Karin, wake up."

She mumbled something incoherent and then settled against his shoulder once more. He frowned at her, wondering how he could get her to wake up. "Karin!" There was still no response.

_Damn, she sleeps like a log alright_, he thought.

"Hey, dinner's ready." He changed tack but there was still no response. "Oh, my word! A forest fire!" He tried hopefully.

"WHAT!? WHERE!?" She immediately jolted upright, looking around in alarm. She frowned at the carriage and Hitsugaya's grinning face. "What's so funny? And where's the forest fire?"

"There is no fire. I had to wake you up somehow. We're almost at your place." He informed.

"Sorry, I fell asleep. Damn," She got off his lap and sat by his side. She yawned hugely and rested her head against his shoulder again.

"I thought you weren't tired." He said.

"Well, that was a lie." She said as she suppressed another yawn. "Sleeping at the palace is all well and good, but there's nothing like your own bed."

"Or my lap." He grinned.

"Or Shiro-kun's lap." She agreed with a small blush. "So, what now?"

He shrugged. "We'll have to sort details of the wedding out and then...see where that takes us."

She suddenly sat upright. "Oh yeah, about earlier...me bein..."

He turned to face her as she spoke and talked over her before she could finish. "Don't worry; I'm expected to be the king of this kingdom soon and I don't need someone who's like my mother, I just need somebody who understands me, OK?" He looked at her meaningfully and wound an arm about her waist.

"But your mother expects me to..." She began.

"My mother expects a lot of things from a lot of people but she can't mould everybody around her into the way she likes. I heard from Matsumoto that she always used to fuss around after she first got married to my father; she didn't like the way he used to be so carefree." He shrugged again. "My mother was from a noble family so she had a very fixed view on how a king should behave."

"But...H-How do I know if I'm doin right by you? What if I'm no help at all?" She asked with a sigh.

He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I said don't worry about it." He said softly. "Everything will work out because we're gonna make it work out."

She sighed again and smiled, "I guess you're right." But she still couldn't dispel the worry that she felt imbedded in her heart. She had never in a million years thought that she might end up as part of the royal family and so, she hadn't given it any thought like she had of the rest of her possible future life. She had previously deduced that if she had an arranged marriage and if she didn't like the guy, she'd run away from home before the guy could say one more to her. She didn't take kindly to people she didn't like.

They pulled up in the Kurosaki home after two minutes or so. The carriage in which Rukia and Orihime were sitting in stopped first and the petite, dark-haired woman got out and went to the door of the house and went in. Orihime waited uncomfortably by the door with her head bowed as Karin and Hitsugaya emerged from the other carriage.

"You're comin in, right?" Karin asked, turning back to him.

"I have to go. Okaa-sama said to be back immediately." He said regrettably.

"So...When will I see you again?" She asked quietly.

He leant in close, making her a little flustered because they were out in the open, and whispered in her ear. "Meet me in the field tomorrow."

"When tomorrow?" She asked in the same tone.

He grinned briefly and answered, "Evening. Seven."

"Evening? Is that wise?" She asked uncertainly.

He frowned at that. "Since when do you care if something's wise or not?"

She paused a moment in thoughtful silence. "That's a good point." She said.

Hitsugaya sweat dropped and sighed. "Well, seeya later." He said softly.

"Yeah, later." She said. He stepped back away from her and turned around to start walking away again. Karin was a little sad; she'd expected a parting kiss, or something.

As if sensing this, Hitsugaya turned to face her again and took the few steps between them and pressed his lips to hers, his arms wrapping around her middle. She smiled through the kiss and held him close. The few servants that had come to see what the matter was, along with Orihime, gazed at the two in muted wonder.

"While I'm not around, please take care of yourself." Hitsugaya said softly as he broke away.

Karin's dark eyebrow rose at that. "I've been taking good care of myself for the past sixteen years; I think I'll be fine."

"Don't joke around; I know you can take perfect care of yourself but I still need to hear it." He said adamantly.

"Why?" She challenged.

He sighed in exasperation. "Because I do."

"Fine, I'll be sure to take good care of myself in your absence." She said with a roll of the eyes. "So, I don't have to take care of myself in your presence?"

"Nope, because I'll do it." He grinned.

"Aw, Shirou-kun! That's so cute!" She exclaimed, pulling his cheek a little. A vein promptly bulged in his forehead and he swatted her hand away. "I'll see you later." He said as he walked away. "Ok! Bye!" She called after him.

He turned around once he reached the carriage and put his hand up to do a single wave before he climbed in and shut the door. Karin waited until both the carriages drove off and were out of sight before she turned around and made her way to the door. "Oh, Inoue-san, what're you still doin out here?" She asked.

Orihime flushed at that, eliciting a grin from the younger girl, "Um...I thought it disrespectful..."

"Pfft! Between you an me, respect very hard to find in this household." Karin winked at her and, without waiting for a response; she picked up the maid's bags and walked in through the door, holding it open for her as she did so. The maid stared wide-eyed after her and made to protest but the younger girl was already inside. She sighed deeply hesitantly followed her in.

Once she had closed the door, Karin yelled at the top of her lungs, "YO, PEOPLE, I'M HOME!"

Orihime winced at the sudden loudness. Karin looked very slight and so far, she had only spoken to the orange-haired woman in a normal tone, but she sure had a loud voice if she tried.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu came bounding down the stairs and hugged her sister. "How was it!?" She then noticed Orihime standing behind Karin and pulled away from the dark-haired girl. "Oh, konnichiwa." She bowed at the girl and smiled politely. Orihime stared in surprise and hastily bowed in response, though a lot lower than the fair haired girl. Yuzu gazed questioningly as she straightened.

"This is Orihime Inoue, she was sent here on the behest of the Queen." Karin explained. She turned to Orihime and smiled. "Inoue-san, this is my sister Yuzu." She sidled up to her and whispered conspiratorially, "She's a total pushover so if you ever want anything like big, just ask her." She grinned.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu exclaimed, offended. "I heard that!"

Karin grinned apologetically and put her arm about her twin. "Sorry, Yuzu, you know I can't resist joking at your expense." Yuzu looked like she was close to tears so Karin sighed and said she was sorry. "You're not a pushover at all." She said solemnly, untruthfully.

"What's all the racket?" Ichigo came down too and by the looks of it, he'd been sleeping. "Oh, hey Karin!" He said brightly.

"Were you sleeping?" Karin asked incredulously. "I thought you were at the Clinic today?"

He yawned as he approached his sisters, "I was. All morning. Man, I went to sleep real late last night so I thought I'd..." He trailed off as he stopped rubbing his eyes and noticed Orihime standing behind his sister. "And who's this?" He took in the maid uniform beneath the worn cloak that the woman wore and frowned questioningly.

"Ah, this is Orihime Inoue, she's from the palace. Hitsugaya-sama said she will be...um...tending to...me these few weeks..." Karin's gaze shifted uncomfortably as she faltered. She immediately turned and introduced her brother to the maid. "Inoue-san, this is my brother Ichigo. He can be an idiot at times but don't let the facade of stupidity fool you; he'd actually pretty cool, if he tries." She grinned as a vein popped in her brother's skull.

"Karin..." He growled threateningly.

"Hey, it was a compliment!" She laughed and immediately ran away as Ichigo began chasing her, features distorted in irritation.

"How was that a compliment?!" He yelled.

"I said you were cool! That's a compliment if I ever gave one!" She shot back as she evaded his clutches.

As they continued to run around, many of the servants went back to work, grinning to themselves. At least their beloved Karin-chan was still the same, even though she had her _own_ maid now and she was soon going to be the wife of the Prince. They wanted Karin to stay like she was. Most of them had been working in this household for most of the duration of the twins' lives and the servants all adored both girls; they were both kind and gentle and they treated them like real people and often helped them in their duties, unlike those people outside who looked down their noses at them and screwed their faces up in disgust. Families like the Kurosakis were very rare to find.

As Orihime watched the brother and sister chase each other and continue yelling at one another, the look of surprise and bewilderment faded to be replaced with a small smile. _I'm not as different from you as you may think_. That was what Karin had said to her. Orihime had a feeling that she was going to like it in the Kurosaki household.

* * *

"How's the room?"

Orihime immediately straightened up from setting the bedcovers and looked to the doorway. Karin was leaning against the doorframe casually with her feet crossed at the ankles and her arms folded over her chest. The maid bowed deeply, her orange-brown tresses reaching for the ground. "It's excellent, Kurosaki-san."

A flicker of annoyance flashed across Karin's visage. "It's Karin."

"H-Hai, Gomenasai, Karin-san." Orihime said hastily.

Karin sat up straight and walked into the room. The room was rather plain but Orihime had free reign to decorate it as she pleased. Karin's room was right next door. Karin had figured that since the maid was there because of her, she was responsible for her safety, so that was the reason why Orihime was going to stay near Karin's room. "It's Karin, plain and simple."

Orihime looked down. "Um...Why must you be so adamant about this...Karin-san?"

Karin sighed in exasperation. "Cuz I'm just a middle-class girl who believes that the societal system of class is just a load of shite." She flashed a grin before turning about and walking out again. "Oh, and if you need anything, I'm just down the hall. I know you're a maid but you won't be treated like one here."

Orihime didn't know how many times her mouth was going to hang open whenever she was around that girl. Karin Kurosaki was an enigma indeed. But she also seemed...unreal, in this world that they lived in. Someone like her wasn't believable unless seen with one's own eyes. But wait...there was another...

Since Orihime was one of the Queen's personal maids, she'd seen more of the young Prince than most and on the rare occasions when he talked to the maids and other servants, he was always polite and soft-spoken. He talked to even the cleaners with respect, which was a rarity among higher-class folk. That was why everybody loved the young Prince. Orihime thought the Prince and Karin looked cute together. They made a good couple.

"Oh, Inoue, you don't have to stand around, ya know." Ichigo said at dinner. "Come on, have a seat." He motioned for the uncomfortable, flushing Orihime, who was standing behind the table after having laid the dishes down, to take a seat.

Rukia bristled as _the maid_ took a seat timidly beside Karin, who had specifically left a spare seat between herself and her sister. Sure, the Kurosakis were peasant-lovers, but inviting a mere _maid_ to sit with them at dinner? The notion was preposterous! The Kurosakis were pitiful indeed. And what bugged Rukia more than that was that she couldn't say anything about this because god only knew what these barbaric people would do to her. Her powers were still weak. _Wait until I get my powers restored, you'll all pay_, she thought. She raised her chopsticks to her mouth and began chewing without looking at what the food had been. Her cheeks puffed out and she immediately spat out the food. "WHAT IS THIS TRASH?" She demanded, turning to Orihime.

The others were green in the face too but they bravely swallowed the food. At Rukia's outburst, Orihime began to sweat profusely and shrank in her seat. "Hey, don't take it out on her!" Karin said, standing up and facing Rukia across the table.

"The food is terrible!" Rukia exclaimed.

"She was only trying to be helpful! No need to make such a big deal out of it!" Karin shot back.

"This...food is not even edible!"

"So what? If you don't like it then maybe you should get the fuck out of here!"

"Enough!" Both women turned their heads about to see Ichigo wearing a scowl. Karin's features softened and she sat down once again, looking down at her plate of strange foodstuffs. It actually looked okay to eat but it tasted horrible. Rukia grudgingly let the argument go and stood up and left the room. She tried to spend as little time with the family as possible, much like her cousin.

"Um...Gomenasai..." Orihime said tearfully as she stood up and bowed.

"It's okay." Yuzu was the one who spoke this time. "We don't really expect you to cook for us, Inoue-san."

Orihime looked up at the fair haired girl in surprise. "Um...Please...If there is any punishment..."

"Enough with that already!" Karin said in exasperation. She stood up once again to face Orihime. "I told you that you weren't gonna be treated like a maid here. If it bugs you so much; you're welcome to see to oversee the work of the other servants, OK?"

"K-Karin-san..." Orihime stared at the irritated girl is surprise and then bowed, deeply. "Gomenasai!"

Karin let a sound akin to a growl escape past her lips, "If you keep that up, then you really are gonna have somethin to be sorry about." She said flatly.

Before Orihime could speak again and apologise, Yuzu spoke up. "I'll go make dinner! Inoue-san, please feel free to assist."

"Hai, Yuzu-san." Orihime said.

Karin inwardly groaned again. This was going to take some work.

* * *

The next day, Karin and Yuzu went shopping, upon Yuzu's insistence that if Karin wanted to look good for the Prince, she'd have to get a new wardrobe. They also asked Orihime to come along.

"Ooh, that one, that one!" The orange-haired girl said excitedly as they approached some clothes shops. She pointed exuberantly at a nearby shop. Karin and Yuzu simultaneously looked at her with raised eyebrows. They looked to the shop that she was pointing at. It had some clothes on display in the windows but Karin felt that they weren't her style.

"Um...They're not really my styl..." She began.

"Karin-san, your style doesn't matter right now!" Orihime said, "What matters is looking good enough to be seen as a Prince's wife."

"Er..." Karin sweat dropped. "You're really into this stuff, huh?"

"Of course! Back at the palace, I always had to go out with the other girls and Hitsugaya-sama to help her with her outfits and such. The lot of us were selected to be personal maids for a reason, you know. We know a thing or two about presentation!" She winked at the two younger girls. "Come on! This shop is the best one!" And with that, she rushed off.

Karin and Yuzu stared after her in silence. They exchanged a look of utter bewilderment and then shrugged and followed.

"Ah, Orihime! Welcome! Is Hitsugaya-sama coming in today...?" One of the ladies behind the counter said as Yuzu, Karin and Orihime entered the shop. She saw that the Queen was not with the orange haired maid and frowned questioningly.

"Um...I don't suppose you would like for it to be known just yet that you're...?" Orihime asked Karin in a whisper.

"Oh...Um...I dunno...I guess not..." Karin shrugged. She looked about the shop in wonderment. There were all kinds of garments here! They varied from traditional clothing to Western dresses. She had never been one for clothes shops before. After her father's death, she'd taken to wearing Yuzu's old clothes that she didn't want anymore and before that, she'd always taken to picking out plain clothes.

"No, just here with a friend today!" Orihime answered cheerily.

The ladies behind the counter looked Karin and Yuzu up and down. They were Orihime's friends? Sure, Orihime was a nice enough girl and she had knowledge of how to dress nobly but she _was_ still a maid and she was of the lower class so how could she possibly have friends in the middle or upper classes? No respectable people made friends with peasants, surely! "I see...Would you like any assistance?" The lady who had spoken previously asked, after sharing a look with her colleagues.

"Oh, no thank you!" Orihime said cheerily as she made her way further into the store, making sure the two younger girls were behind her.

"Um...nothing too fancy, ok? And no more than one outfit, this place looks expensive. I'm sure Ichigo wouldn't appreciate the three of us spending so much dough on clothes." Karin said as she yawned.

"Karin-chan, try to be a little more enthusiastic!" Yuzu protested as she looked around in wonder at all the clothes. Yuzu loved clothes shopping. "So, when are you going to meet with Oji-sama again?" She asked as she sidled closer to her sister after a while of flicking through some outfits on a nearby rack.

Karin merely raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Karin-chan! Please!" Yuzu begged. "Spill!"

Karin sincerely regretted making so much use of her "I'm having a seizure" technique to escape her sister's enthusiasm. It didn't work as well any more. She stared off into space, wondering if she could come up with any new techniques.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu interrupted her thoughts and she returned to reality, having come up with nothing to ward off the questions of her twin.

"What?" Karin said with a sigh.

"When are you going to meet with Ojii-sama?"

Karin sighed again and said in a blank tone, "We're going to elope tonight."

"WHAT!? KARIN-CHAN!" Yuzu said loudly. Some of the ladies behind the till looked questioningly in their direction. Orihime was busy flitting through more outfits.

Karin sighed yet again, "Relax, I was only joking. You need to stop taking things at face value, Yuzu."

They continued talking in that manner until Orihime called Karin over and asked her to try a dress on.

"Er...No chance." Karin said as soon as she saw the dress in question. It was white with a wide skirt and a wide blue sash at the waist with a bow on the side and puffed out short sleeves. Puffed out sleeves, come on! "It's too...cute."

"But Karin-san, it suits you!" Orihime argued.

"No it doesn't." Karin disagreed in a blank tone. "Me and cute do not go together."

"How about this one then?" The maid held up another dress, this one sleeveless and red with black embroidery and what looked to be a really tight bodice.

"Not a chance in hell."

Orihime sighed and put aside the one she held. "OK, this one?" She held up another outfit.

"Not in a million years."

Orihime discarded that one too. "This one?"

"No."

"This one?"

"Nope."

"This one?"

"Uh-uh. How about something casual but not _too_ casual?" Karin asked looking around for herself. Orihime may have picked out outfits for the queen to wear on numerous occasions but she didn't _know_ Karin Kurosaki. Karin ruffled through the clothes on the rack until she found something that was of a favourable colour, for example, black. She pulled the dress out. This was long, but not too long that her movement would be restricted, and the skirt, though wide, was not _too_ wide and the neckline wasn't _too_ low, it was sleeveless and it wasn't tight. Karin had no taste for anything figure-hugging. It had a red threaded embroidery finish on the hem. She thought it looked all right but she was going to steal one of Yuzu's not-too-fancy-not-too-simple kimonos for the "meeting" with Hitsugaya later in the evening.

Orihime and Yuzu both tried to get her to change her mind but by that time, she was already extremely sorry to have come on this stupid shopping trip and was blankly rejecting all their ideas and choices. She just wanted to go home by this time so they brought the dress and felt the shop.

Karin didn't get to go straight home after that like she'd wished; the other two made her stay and took her around some other boring shops and brought her loads of unnecessary things like perfumes and makeup which she saw as totally pointless. She wasn't the type to buy jewellery so when the other two suggested paying a trip to the jewellers, Karin grabbed both of them by the back of their necks and began racing towards home. It was late afternoon by the time they got back.


	13. Isamu

Update days have changed slightly to Sundays and Wednesdays, if I go a little over those (which I shall try hard not to do) then I'll have a valid reason for doing so.

Thank you everybody for reviewing, I really appreciate it.

"You can't tell anyone, OK?" Karin said as she gazed beseechingly at the orange-haired woman who was helping her with her hair. She had told her that she was going to be meeting with the Prince in an hour and she had to get ready.

"For the last time, Karin-san, of course I won't!" Orihime exclaimed.

_I'm so glad Yuzu's having a bath right now_, Karin thought. Her sister always took her time when she was in the bath so she wouldn't be questioning where Karin was going at this late hour, Ichigo was out somewhere with the excuse that he had business to attend to, and Rukia and Hinamori were in their rooms as usual. "Just hurry up, please." She begged. She couldn't wait to see Hitsugaya. She had only been away from him for little more than a day but she was anxious to look upon his visage again. She had to make certain that she wasn't dreaming the whole thing somehow.

"Well, gotta run!" She said and jumped up as soon as Orihime finished typing up her high ponytail. Karin was rubbish at doing anything with her hair aside from leaving it open or pulling it back into a messy low plait. "Thanks, Orihime!" And with that, she dashed out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs and out the door. She relaxed in the cool breeze that wafted in from the darkness. She had no qualms about travelling in the dark; in fact, she preferred the dark. She hurried along, eager to get to her destination.

Much to her dismay, the journey took longer than she would have liked because of the traditional sandals that she wore. Their surrounding area was quite a safe place so she didn't run into any problems; she'd been this way in the dark millions of times.

When she arrived at the field, she was relieved to see that although the figure that stood in the centre was pacing restlessly back and forth, was still there. She let out a sigh of relief as some distant light caught the spiky hair.

"Shirou-kun!" She called out. It was the Prince Hitsugaya who stood in the field, not "Shirou".

The figure stopped and looked to the entrance, and then he came running up to her. "Thank god you're alright!" He exclaimed as they met.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" She asked in puzzlement.

"It's dark and I didn't think of all the dangers that face a girl out and about by herself at this time. I should have come to meet you earlier, I'm sorry." He looked to her with eyes full of concern.

"Aw, Shirou-kun, don't be like that." Karin said with a sigh. "I've walked along here a million times in the dark before."

He sighed and took her by the waist and pulled her closer. "That's not the point. I nearly died of worry."

"Aw, don't fret so much, Grandma." She said in mock-sadness.

A vein bulged in his head, "Be serious. I can't help being worried about you."

She sighed again. "Look, I've had trouble before, OK? It was a few months ago, right after the old man died. I always used to come here but one evening, these bunch of guys came up to me and started sayin stuff."  
His eyes widened a little at that. "So what happened?"

She grinned in response. "They got beat."

One eyebrow rose in puzzlement. "_You_ beat them? How many guys were there?"

"Five." She replied nonchalantly. "I told you, I can take care of myself. Ichi-Nii taught me to fight way back."

The white eyebrow went up again. "Really? Your brother fights?"

"Yeah, can't you tell? He used to be rebellious and he was picked on a lot in school so my parents got him to start learning to fight so that he could channel his frustration or whatever and then he passed on everything he knew to me." She stated with a shrug.

"You love your brother very much, don't you?" He asked with a smile.

"I love my _family_ very much, dead parents an all." She corrected. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms about his shoulder. "And I love my soon-to-be _family_ too...my soon-to-be husband." She mumbled.

Hitsugaya smiled a lopsided smile and held her tenderly. "I love you too, Karin."

She tilted her head back and straightened up and kissed him, taking her time, keeping her eyes open, observing him as his eyes closed and he kissed back, letting himself explore too. His eyes opened after a second or two and they gazed at one another as their lips remained connected. The faintest crinkling of the eyes suggested to her that he was smiling and she smiled back, making it a little awkward to kiss properly. His hands ran up and down the length of her back and her hands rose and grabbed a hold of the back of his white head as their kiss turned more desperate. It was the need for oxygen that finally made them break apart. They were both breathing heavily but still yearning for the feel of the other so they leant in again and kissed once more, though they were more gentle kisses this time, sweet rather than desperate.

"So, what do we do now?" Karin asked as they broke away and she laid her head upon his shoulder once more.

"I'll get the details of the wedding sorted with mother and your brother and then...we get married." He shrugged.

"Just like that?"

"I guess."

She scoffed and pulled away and looked up at him. "It's not that simple. It never is."

He grasped her hands in both his own. "Will you relax? I'll make it that simple. There's nothing to worry about; this will work out fine. If it doesn't, then you can skin me alive."

She grinned at that, "OK." She gazed at him thoughtfully, "Though, to be honest, the whole "bloodied skeleton" look wouldn't suit you."

He rolled his eyes at that and pulled her closer. "Stop with the humourless jokes already."

"Hey!" She cried, offended. "That's just mean!"

"Your jokes are flat; I can't help it."

"You're so mean."

He sighed in resignation and pulled her even closer. "Want to walk?" He asked.

"In a while." She said as she buried her head in his chest. He smiled down at her and wrapped his arms protectively around her back and rested his chin on top of her head. For the moment, both of them were content to just be together and be held by the other.

* * *

"Yo, Inoue, where's Karin?" Ichigo stuck his head around Orihime's open door. He'd just come back home from the work-related issue that he had gone to discuss with a friend of his father's.

Orihime was doing some ironing, he realised. He frowned questioningly as she turned to gaze at him. She bowed deeply and said uneasily, "Um...She just...went out awhile."

Ichigo sighed. He really did wish the older of the twins would stop going out so late. Ever since they were little, Karin had always played outside even if it was dark. He wasn't _that_ worried though; he had specifically taught Karin how to look after herself. But he was still a protective older brother and she was still a girl of slight build who looked _delicate_; there were terrible people out in the streets after dark. But all the times that Karin had come back home from these late ventures, she was always unharmed. So, now he was going to have to sit around and worry incessantly about her until she walked through that door. And he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with a certain white-haired boy. "OK, thanks." He said as he continued on his way. In the next second he heard a stifled yelp of pain so he went back quickly to the maid's room. "Hey, you okay?" He asked in genuine concern.

He saw that she was not ok; she was clutching her hand tightly and silent tears of pain were running down her cheeks and the iron was laying flat on the board. "H-Hai, Kurosaki-san." She said quietly.

He sighed and went up to her. "Let me have a look." He ordered. He held his hand out expectantly.

"I-It's fine, Kurosaki-san!" She said with false bravado.

"That's bull and you know it." He forcefully took away the uninjured hand that was wound tightly around the other one. He saw that it was burnt pretty badly; it was obviously from the iron. He immediately turned off the heated contrivance and took her hand carefully once again. "Let's get this sorted then." He led her out of the room and down the stairs. Orihime flushed madly as she

obediently followed. What was this guy doing, taking her hand like that? She was a maid and he was the head of this family, this _rich_ family.

Downstairs in the kitchen, he told her to keep her hand under the cold running water for a few minutes and then he went off to look for some implements. Orihime trusted that he knew what he was doing; after all, he ran a medical clinic.

"Right," he said as he came into the kitchen carrying some stuff, "Let's get this seen to." He came over to her and turned the tap off and took her hand within his own once again. He rubbed some sort of cream, gently and cautiously, over the severe burn and then carefully applied a bandage. "Just be sure not to strain it, okay? Otherwise, stuff will leak out of it. It's real horrible." He said.

Orihime was quietly surprised (and a little flushed) that Ichigo Kurosaki could be so gentle. At first glance, upon taking in the spiked orange hair and the perpetual scowl, she had been a little apprehensive. He had made quite a scary first impression but then he'd chased after Karin in a rather comical fit of rage and she'd thought it was so _normal_. Ichigo Kurosaki was an enigma, as were his sisters. His wife was what she had expected to find when she'd first met Karin, but the younger girl had surprised her immensely. They were such a _normal_ family in most respects, but normal families of the middle class didn't necessarily mingle with the lower class. "Hai, Kurosaki-san." She mumbled with her head down (out of respect and also because she didn't want him to see her red face).

"Good, leave the ironing. Who told you to do that anyway?" He questioned.

She became visibly flustered. "Um...N-No one!" She exclaimed.

He sighed. "Look, we have paid servants to take care of that stuff, okay? Your wages aren't coming from us so there's no need for you do to anything around here." He said.

"B-But...Karin-san...!" She began.

"I'm sure Karin would tell you if she needs assistance with something." He looked at her meaningfully.

She looked down quickly as his gaze fixed upon hers. "Y-yes, Kurosaki-san."

"Alright." He said as he walked away. "Have you had dinner yet?"

"N-No." She replied. Why was she stuttering so much? She was sure Ichigo Kurosaki thought her pathetic and weak. But then, she was a maid; maybe he expected her to act like that in his presence.

"Waitin for Karin?"

"Yes."

"I suggest you get somethin to eat; never know when Karin's gonna come back from wherever it is she went." He said with a disapproving shake of the head. He left without another word, shutting the door after himself.

And so, Orihime was left to her own thoughts, thoughts that were focused on the mystery that was Ichigo Kurosaki.

* * *

"The wind's pickin up." Karin mumbled as a particularly cold breeze wafted by. Hitsugaya felt her shiver a little and held her tightly.

"You wanna head back home?" He asked.

She shook her head and wound her arms securely about his shoulders. "I'd like to stay with Shirou-kun a little longer, if that's ok." She mumbled.

He smiled into her hair and said, "Sure."

They walked around a little after that, hand in hand, and talked little, instead enjoying the other's company.

"Ne, Shirou-kun, do you think you're ready to rule yet?" Karin asked suddenly.

"Eh?" He gazed at her in surprise. That question wasn't one that he'd thought she'd ask. "I dunno."

"I'd just like you to know that, if ever you need me, I'll stand by you."

He gazed at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was looking down intently at the ground and her posture was rigid. She probably wasn't used to saying something so "soppy". He stopped walking and pulled her to him. "I need you." He whispered as he coiled his arm about her

waist. They gazed absorbedly at one another, suddenly getting lost within the other's gaze. "I really need you." He said again. And he did need her; she was everything to him now. Ever since that day when they'd played tag, he'd known she was _different_. She was _special_. She _understood_ him; she was his everything now. She was his. And it felt...nice knowing that he had to take care of her...because she was _special_.

"Really?" She whispered back. He nodded seriously. "Then, you got me." She said. She stood up on her tiptoes and leant closer to him. But just before their lips touched, she freed herself from his grasp and ran away. "Catch me if you can!" She called over her shoulder.

A befuddled Hitsugaya gazed after her with a frown. "You ruined the moment!" He complained. She only laughed in response so he sighed and set off after her.

He caught up with her after a good two minutes of nonstop running. She didn't look back because the last time she'd checked, he'd way behind. She suddenly felt arms snaking about her waist, but because she hadn't been expecting it, she still continued moving her feet, forcing Hitsugaya to move along with her and he stumbled and sent both of them crashing to the ground.

"Ow!" Karin cried out. "You could have given a warning, you idiot!"

"Shut up!" He huffed. "It was your fault!"

"How was it my fault?" She asked incredulously.

"You should have stopped moving, that way we wouldn't have fallen!"

"Well, you could have just let go!"

"It was too sudden!"

"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses...You just can't let me go can you?"

He grinned suddenly and pulled her down on top of him. "That I can't." He said in agreement before kissing her ardently on the lips. He rolled over so that she was lay beneath him and continued to kiss her deeply. Once he broke away, he smirked when he saw that Karin was terribly flustered and her breathing was short and ragged. "You're not gonna die on me, are you?" He asked.

"Shut up!" She said sharply as she struggled to get her breath back. She lifted up a lethargic hand and wedged it into his hair at the back of his head and pulled him down and kissed him almost violently.

"Tryna have a contest or somethin?" He asked as he broke away from her, even though she held onto him tightly.

"Yeah." She answered simply.

"Sorry, you lose." He grinned and got up. "We should be going now."

"Spoil sport." Karin grumbled as he offered her a hand up. She took it and he effortlessly pulled her up. "What now?" She asked.

"I'm taking you home." He said firmly.

"I can walk." She said.

"I can see that, but I'm giving you a ride." He said.

She frowned quizzically, "Eh? What ride?" She asked in puzzlement.

"Come on." He said as he took her hand and began to lead her out of the field via the old, locked-up gate.

Karin stared around in puzzlement. She hadn't seen any carriages when she'd come in so where was this "ride" of his?

"Listen." He said quietly. She raised an eyebrow in question but listened closely. Sure enough, there was a soft neighing nearby.

"A horse?" She asked in uncertainty.

"Yeah." He said.

They cleared a few more trees that ran alongside the outside of the field and they came across a steed. Karin almost missed it because it was black, blending in perfectly with the night. She gasped a little in surprise when Hitsugaya pointed it out.

"Whoa, he's beautiful..." She said as she walked over to it and stroked its dark mane. "Hey, buddy..." She stood in complete awe of the magnificent beast before her. He was truly amazing. Karin liked horses; they were so beautiful and elegant and lithe (if trained well enough). She'd always wanted a horse but her father had denied her it; he'd said they didn't have the grounds to keep one in fit form and nobody wanted a weak horse. The horse neighed and leant his head closer to her.

"He likes you." Hitsugaya said with a small smile.

"Wow..." She just couldn't get over it. He was so beautiful.

"Are you falling in love with my horse?" Hitsugaya joked as he observed her from the tree that the horse was tethered to.

She grinned at that. "I think I might just be. So, what's his name?"

"Isamu." He replied. The horse neighed in an affirmative.

"Nice name. Nice to meet you, Isamu."

Hitsugaya let her pet Isamu for another minute or so and then realised that she'd probably stand there forever if he didn't tell her to move. "Come on, we gotta go." He stood up straight, unfastening the tether and urging Karin to the horse's side.

"Right." She grinned sheepishly and went to the stand by him. He climbed up first and then held a hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her up to sit in front of him with both legs dangling over the same side.

"Hold on tight." He said as he gently tugged on the reins. Isamu began to trot away. Karin smiled down at him and reached out a hand and petted his mane once more before wrapping her arms securely about Hitsugaya's waist. "You really like him, don't you?" Hitsugaya said with a small smile.

"Yeah, he's the most beautiful thingI've ever seen." She said.

"He was a present from my father," Hitsugaya said quietly, "for my fifteenth birthday."

"Your dad's one cool guy, huh?" She said, looking up at him in the gloom.

"Yeah, he is." He agreed softly. He seemed to blank out everything for a while as he stared at some point in the horizon.

"You okay?" Karin asked, breaking into his reverie. He looked down at her and gave her a small smile and wound an arm protectively around her lower back as the other tightly held onto Isamu's reins. She sighed a little and leant her head against his chest. She heard the gentle, rhythmic thudding of his heart and smiled to herself. She secured her arms around his waist and slowly began to fall asleep.

* * *

"Karin, wake up." Hitsugaya said softly.

When Karin opened her eyes a few seconds later, she was surprised to find that they were standing directly before her front door. "Whoa, that was quick." She said as she sat up straight.

"Well, obviously if you slept through the entire ride." He scoffed.

She sighed and jumped off the horse. Hitsugaya joined her as she petted Isamu and whispered to him. The horse neighed in response to whatever she muttered.

"OK, next time I'm bringing the weakest looking horse you've ever seen." Hitsugaya said dryly.

"What? Why?" She protested. "You're so mean."

He rolled his eyes. "It was just a joke."

"Your jokes are too flat." She said matter-of-factly.

"At least they're not morbid." He pointed out.

"What? My jokes are not morbid!" She hissed irritably.

"Er...Bloodied skeleton...how is that _not_ morbid?"

"Hello, you were the one who said I could skin you alive!"

"And you were the one who happily agreed to it!"

They sighed collectively and shook their heads. "Never mind." They said in unison.

He suddenly took hold of her waist and pressed her closer against him. She looked up at him and smiled and he found himself smiling in response. He tilted his head forward a little and pressed his lips against hers, slowly, savouring the touch. After they broke away, they continued to hold onto one another.

"I'll come by tomorrow, around late afternoon. Mother and I will be discussing the dates and such tomorrow so I'll relay all the details to you after." He said into her hair.

"Sure thing." She said. She yawned and suddenly felt very tired. _What time is it? Can't be any more than nine, surely!_ She thought in confusion. Usually, she stayed up until late at night. At around midnight she went to sleep so why was she so tired now?

Hitsugaya pulled back and gazed at her with a soft smile. "You should get some sleep; I expect you to be _alive_ tomorrow."

"Very funny." She said blankly. She extricated herself from his arms and turned towards Isamu. She stoked his mane lovingly for a few seconds and sighed and walked towards the front door. "G'night, and try not to dream too much about me!" She grinned as she turned back and waved to the two of them from the entrance.

Hitsugaya held his hand up in an unmoving wave and climbed back onto his horse. He waited until she'd gone inside and tugged on the reins. Isamu began to trot away.

"Some girl, eh?" Hitsugaya said softly. He reached out and stroked his horse's mane. The horse neighed.

Hitsugaya realised with some regret that he hadn't said anything like "I love you" to her before they'd parted. It somehow didn't feel right to part without saying so.

"SHIRO-KUN!"

He was a little startled as he heard his name being yelled out. He turned around on the horse's back and saw Karin leaning out of a window on the bottom floor of the house. "YEAH?" He asked as loudly as he could.

"I LOVE YOU!" She yelled out.

He couldn't help but smile at that. She was too far away for him to see if she was smiling or not. "I LOVE YOU TOO!" He shouted. He saw a vague thumps-up and then a wave as she disappeared back inside the building and closed the window. He turned around to face the front wearing the biggest smile in his eighteen year history.

He hoped the rest of the people within the Kurosaki home were sleeping and hadn't heard his and Karin's none too private message. But it didn't matter anyway; they'd be getting married soon.

"What did I say, some girl, eh?" He said to Isamu. The horse neighed in response.

* * *

Conjunctivitis sucks; I look like a fuckin demon from hell with real proper bloodshot eyeballs and they're freakin killin me! See how dedicated I am to you folks? :D


	14. The Date Of The Wedding

Hullo! ANd thank ye for all thy good reviews! Much appreciated...it's good for a writer to know that their work is actually enjoyed by others :D

ANd yay, my conjunctivitis is clearin up and I got two days off college!

When there was a knock at the door the following afternoon, Karin eagerly went to answer it, hoping that it was Hitsugaya. She was disappointed.

"Oh, Karin-chan, long time no see." The man wearing glasses said as the door opened.

"Oh...Ishida-kun, um...yeah, I guess so." Karin replied, still taking in the fact that it _wasn't_ Hitsugaya.

"So, how is your health?" Uryu Ishida asked, pushing the glasses up on his nose.

"Um...Good, I guess. Can I help you?" She asked. Ishida was her brother's "friend", if one could call him that. The two had been "friendly" rivals since their school days but their father's had been rivals too. Ryuken Ishida and Isshin Kurosaki had always been at each other's throats since they had both ran medical clinics and they had always been in competition to see whose was better. Their ridiculous rivalry was not helped by the fact that their workplaces were directly opposite one another. Karin was just glad that they kept their families out of it...aside from the sons, of course. Ichigo and Ishida now ran the clinics and they were no better than their fathers had been.

"Yes, is your brother in?" Ishida asked.

"Hai, one moment." She said. She dashed back into the house and yelled, "ICHI-NII, ISHIDA-KUN'S HERE TO SEE YA!"

Ishida's brow quivered in annoyance. Ichigo was such a bad influence on his sisters; he spoke with such bad manners at times and it reflected. Ichigo was not fit to run a medical facility, though he had noticed a change in Kurosaki's mannerisms up until a few days ago. He had been like that since he came back from abroad with his wife so Ishida had thought that the bright-haired man had finally decided to act according to his age and status but then he'd gone back to being the usual goof.

"Would you like to come in?" Karin asked, holding the door open to for him to step through.

"Thank you." He said as he entered the house. Karin led him over to drawing room and bid him sit down.

They sat in silence for a while, awaiting the presence of Ichigo. Both were unfazed by the silence; both were the type of people who saw no reason to talk if there was no _reason_ to talk. The silence was broken a minute or so later by the sound of hurried footsteps outside the room and then the door opened quickly.

"Karin-san...Can I please..." Orihime trailed off as she entered the room and saw that Ishida was sitting there also. "Ah, Gomenasai." She bowed deeply and then made to backtrack out of the room as fast as possible but she banged into Ichigo, who was just about to come in. She gave a barely suppressed squeal as she started to tumble to the ground but Ichigo's arm wound about her waist, halting her fall. Orihime flushed red as a tomato as she was set upright. "Gomenasai, Kurosaki-san." She said as she turned to face him and bowed.

"S'ok." Ichigo said noncommittally, waving her apology aside. "Yo, Ishida!" He said as he moved past Orihime and went to join his sister and his rival.

"Kurosaki." Ishida said by way of greeting.

At that moment, Karin was smirking at two things; the comical scene at the door and the fact that Ishida was kind of staring at Orihime.

"What were you saying before, Orihime?" She asked the maid.

"Oh, Hai, um...I-I had a small...request..." She stammered.

"Oh, well, go on." Karin said patiently.

Orihime was visibly nervous and embarrassed. "Um...Er...Never mind." She said as she bowed and exited. Karin raised her eyebrow quizzically and got up to go and see what it was that the maid wanted.

Ishida gazed questioningly at the door and then minutely shook his head and turned his attention to Ichigo. "So...Kurosaki..."

"What's up?" Karin asked as she closed the door behind her.

Orihime flushed and said apologetically, "Um...I require some...items from the shop...A-and I d-don't know my way around this area m-much...Could...could you point me in the right...direction...please?" She trailed off and hung her head, still flushing bright as a tomato.

"That's all?!" Karin scoffed. "Geez, why couldn't you just say that straight out?"

"S-Sorry..."

"Quit with the apologisin." Karin said with a sigh. "Alright, let's go. There's a store two blocks away."

"A-Arigato, Karin-san..." Orihime stammered.

"Don't worry about it." Karin smiled and walked to the front door and opened it.

They two women walked out. "Oh, wait; you need some dough, Orihime?" Karin asked suddenly.

"Oh, no! I have some." Orihime replied quickly.

They continued walking for some time and were out of the grounds of the Kurosaki estate when they were joined by Ishida. It seemed his business with Ichigo had been brief; the two rarely sat around exchanging pleasantries if they had no business to discuss.

"Hello, ladies." He said quietly as he came up behind them.

"Wah!" Orihime cried out in surprise, jumping about a foot into the air.

"Haha!" Karin laughed as she watched the maid come back to the ground with a huge blush of embarrassment upon her cheeks. She stopped when Orihime looked like she was going to cry. "Sorry. So, Ishida-kun, what's cookin?" She asked the man with the dark hair.

"Nothing's "cookin", Karin-chan." He said calmly. Karin noticed that he was walking beside Orihime, who was trying to edge away so that she was walking behind the two others. She looked nervous. Karin smirked to herself and racked her brains to see if she could come up with an excuse to leave the two together. At that point, she glanced up and, in the distance, she saw a black horse racing towards the three of them. Atop the horse, she could see distinctly spiky hair. Her heart swelled in excitement and she said, "Hey, um...Ishida-kun, would you mind taking Orihime to the shop near here? I've got a visitor coming."

"Hmm?" Ishida looked to where she was looking and also saw the horse and raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Karin-chan."

Orihime looked flustered. "S-Sorry, you do not have to..." She gulped anxiously. What was Karin doing? Orihime was specifically her maid, she had to stay by Karin, not go to shops with strange men!

"Oh, I don't mind." Ishida said coolly.

"Right, well, see you guys later." Karin said as she ran on ahead. Pretty soon, she was just a blur to the dark haired man and the orange-haired woman.

"Who is that?" Ishida asked.

"A friend of Karin-san's." Orihime said with a smile. She was a little caught up in the moment and forgot her anxiety awhile.

"Yo!" Karin yelled as the horse drew nearer.

Hitsugaya tugged a little on the reins of his horse and came to a stop beside her. "Hey." He smiled down at her.

"Took you long enough." She huffed. She then promptly ignored him as he was about to say something and went to petting the horse. "Hey, boy..." She said as she soothingly stroked Isamu's mane.

Hitsugaya sighed. "I've been out all afternoon, just so you know and I'm tired." He said. "You don't know how many detours I took so that I could arrive here without being noticed."

Karin looked up at him and smiled and held her hand out. "Pull me up." She ordered.

"Eh? What for?" He asked, caught in the middle of yawning.

"I wanna go for a ride, and then we'll go home and get you somethin to eat." She said.

He sighed again and took her hand and pulled her up. She sat with her legs over the same side of the horse and wrapped her arms about his waist. He gave her a lopsided smile and kissed the top of her head. "Where do you wanna go?" He asked softly.

"Anywhere." She answered as she buried her head in his chest.

"Fast, slow or...?"

"_Fast_." She looked up at him and grinned. He rolled his eyes and tugged on the reins to turn the horse around and then tugged again when he was facing the way he'd come. The horse began to trot and then gallop when Hitsugaya pulled sharply on the reins. "Whoo!" Karin cried out as the wind rushed by her face. This elicited a small smile from Hitsugaya. At a parting in the deserted road, where there was no sign of any other life (Orihime and Ishida and taken a path off the road some time ago), Hitsugaya tugged the leash gently to the left and Isamu moved to the small path on their side.

"Go faster." Karin said.

Hitsugaya sighed and tugged sharply on the horse's leash once more and continued doing so for a good few seconds until the horse was running as fast as he could.

"AWESOME!" Karin cried out gleefully.

* * *

They got to the Kurosaki residence half an hour later with a very weary Isamu. Karin was extremely sorry for making the horse go through that. She ran into the house and called a servant to get a bucket of water and then went back out again.

"Sorry, Isamu." She said gravely as she petted his mane. He neighed in response.

"You really do have a need for speed, don't you?" Hitsugaya asked as he jumped off the horse's back and wound his arms about her waist from behind.

"I guess I do." She grinned as she leant against him. "Let's go get this fella some food." She grasped Isamu's reins and started to walk with him towards the gardens, where fresh grass awaited. Hitsugaya let her go and walked besides her, letting her lead _his_ horse. A servant brought the requested bucket of water after a while and the two of them tethered the horse to a tree and let him graze with the bucket nearby and made their way back to the house.

"Ichi-Nii, get your butt down here!" Karin yelled up the stairs. A passing servant had informed her that her brother had gone upstairs after his meeting with Ishida.

The servants, who had all gathered to bow collectively to the Prince, gazed at Karin as if she was out of her mind. What was she thinking, using such language in the presence of the _Prince_? And they were equally shocked to see that Ojii-sama didn't seem to mind her language in the slightest. In fact, he looked rather amused.

"Hey, can someone please prepare this guy some food? He's real hungry, oh and me too, please." Karin said to the servants as she jerked a thumb in Hitsugaya's direction.

Hitsugaya was immensely amused as the servants all scrambled about in their hurry to carry out 'Little Miss's' request. First they just stood there with their mouths hanging open in astonishment and then the words sank in and they immediately scurried around in a mad dash for the kitchen.

"What's all the ruckus?" Ichigo asked as he suppressed a huge yawn as he came down the stairs. He noticed Hitsugaya and hurried down. "Yo, Prince." He grinned as he bowed before the teen.

"Good afternoon, Kurosaki." Hitsugaya acknowledged with a slight inclination of the head.

"Where d'ya go, Karin?" Ichigo asked his sister, turning a fierce gaze on her.

"Out." She replied simply and grinned, staring back at him. Ichigo's gaze faltered and he sighed in exasperation.

"Don't just take off like that. You worry me." He said as he trudged into the drawing room.

"I can take care of myself; after all, I learnt from you right?" She said as she ushered Hitsugaya in before her and shut the door behind herself.

"That's not the issue here!" He protested as he bid Hitsugaya to sit down and then took a seat himself.

"So?" She challenged. "If I say I can look after myself, I can look after myself."

"Karin, you're only sixteen years old and you shouldn't even be out by yourself let alone with a...guy who you're not married to yet." He said in irritation.

"So? We're gettin married soon!" She protested. She glared at her brother, daring him to say more. He was so infuriating sometimes.

Ichigo was about to reply when Hitsugaya interrupted. "How long are you two going to continue to bicker? We have things to discuss." He said coldly.

"You tell him, Shirou-kun!" Karin said enthusiastically.

"That goes for you too, Karin." He said harshly.

She harrumphed at that and folded her arms across her chest irritably. "Meanie."

"Geez, tryna get into the spirit of bein an old married couple already?" Ichigo asked dryly.

"Shut up!" Hitsugaya and Karin snapped in unison.

"Whoa!" Ichigo said, holding his hands up in surrender with a big grin on his face. "Easy. I assume this is important since Karin isn't the only one you came to see?" He said seriously, turning his attention to the Prince.

"Hn..." Hitsugaya didn't reply for a time. After a few moments, he sighed and said, "I've discussed the wedding with Okaa-sama and, in accordance to the amount of time my father has to live, the wedding is going to be in three weeks." He said, being careful to keep his voice level. His eyes held a faraway look and Karin knew that, at the moment, he was more concerned with his father's health. His father wanted to see him married before he died and the doctors had said that the King had barely a month left, or at the latest, eight weeks. Three weeks was the most reasonable date that they could manage.

Ichigo looked sombre. He knew of the King's condition well and he could also understand the predicament. "I'm fine with that if Karin's fine with it." He said softly.

Karin gazed at Hitsugaya calmly. She reached a hand out and gently grasped his. He turned his head to look at her and she smiled. "I'm absolutely fine with it." She said.

"Thank you..." He muttered.

Ichigo took the opportunity to leave the room and the two sidled closer towards one another. Hitsugaya's arms wound about her waist and she wrapped her arms about his shoulders and rested her head upon his shoulder. "It's okay, Shirou-kun..." She whispered. They continued to embrace for a few seconds and Karin wasn't surprised when she felt a drop of water alight atop her head, and then another, and another...until it built up into a steady stream of tears. All she could do was mutter, "It's okay, Shirou-kun...It's okay..." and run her hand through his thick spiky hair and hold him tight.

"I'm sorry..." He said shakily as he tried, without success, to stem the tears pouring out of his eyes. "This is a bit..."

"Shhh...It's ok." She said gently. She continued to hold onto him. "It's ok...Everyone cries once in a while, Toushirou..._Everyone_." She raised her head and looked at him intently.

"Even you?" He asked.

She didn't reply for a time, until he figured she wasn't going to reply, but after about half a minute, she said slowly, "Even me..." She reached a hand up and wiped away the wet streaks that lined his cheeks and proceeded to rest her forehead against his. Her breath struck his cheek and he leant into her a little, his lips drawing closer to hers.

"I love you...Karin." He whispered. He was just about to kiss her when the door was flown open and Orihime said quietly, "Karin-san, your meal is..." She trailed off as she realised how close the two were sitting. "G-Gomenasai!" She cried and fled out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Karin smirked as she stood up. "Come on, food's ready, Ojii-sama." She said as she took his hand and pulled him up.

"Right, Ojou-sama." He said as he wrapped his arms about her waist once more. She flushed, eliciting a grin from him and he bent down a little to place a kiss upon her lips.

* * *

A few days later, the marriage date was made official and Karin was instantly surrounded by people when she went to town with Yuzu and Orihime. They had been there to look at dresses (much to Karin's dismay, even though it was going to be _her_ wedding) and other accessories and makeup and other such "girly" stuff.

"So, which one of you is Karin?" They asked first, looking from Yuzu to Karin. At first, they thought Yuzu was their target, until Yuzu diverted the attention away from her and told them that the girl with the darker hair was Karin (Karin had never been so annoyed at her twin as she had been at that moment).

"How did you meet the Prince?"

"Ah, so lucky!"

"How old are you?"

"You have nice hair!"

"Do you get to call the Prince by his first name?"

Karin's eyebrow twitched as she was jostled around in the middle of the throng of people. The questions and comments got more ridiculous by the minute. She was vaguely annoyed and Yuzu and Orihime were nowhere in sight, having been separated from Karin some time ago.

She's been trying to push her way out of the crown for over fifteen minutes when she decided that she'd had enough.

"ALRIGHT, NEXT PERSON TO MAKE A COMMENT GETS A BIT OF THIS!" She yelled at the top of her voice as she brought her fists up.

"Whoa..."

"Is that really someone the Prince wishes to marry?"

"She's so aggressive!"

"And we're only here to wish her good luck!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" She screamed. "OUT OF MY WAY, RIGHT NOW OR SOMEBODY'S GONNA GET HURT!"

There was utter silence at that. The people had been stunned at her first little outburst but they didn't think the girl would actually threaten anyone.

"Oh my! This is simply horrid!"

"That is no way for the future Queen of this kingdom to behave!"

"Indeed, what appalling language!"

Karin sighed. She really didn't want to hurt anybody at the moment but if they continued to behave the way they were doing right now, she'd have no choice. She wanted to go home. She decided to employ the only trick that she knew, even though it was probably the oldest in the book.

"Hey, I think I hear something! Let me pass, I think Ojii-sama is coming!" She cried.

"What, where?!"

"OMG, OJII-SAMA!"

"Let me see!"

"I wanna see!"

_Heh heh, suckers_, Karin thought as she ducked down between the various people as their attention was diverted from her.

"Hey, I don't see the Prince."

"Where is he?"

"We were tricked!"

"That was the oldest trick in the book and we fell for it!"

By the time they turned their attention back to Karin, the said girl was running down a nearby deserted alley at full speed. She hoped Yuzu and Orihime were okay. She was going to make her way home and never get out of there ever again. She ran through the streets unnoticed by all (and keeping to the shadows) and went down another dark alley. When she emerged through the other side, she realised that she was on a road and a carriage was hurtling straight at her. She froze as she stumbled further into the road. The driver's face gazed at her in a stunned manner and he put his foot down, halting the carriage with all his might.

Karin realised with some amusement (clearly unsuitable for the situation) that it was the royal carriage. The crest of the Hitsugaya family (a slim shiny dragon entwined around a pair of crossed twin swords) glinted silver against the black sheen of the background of the coach. The carriage came to an abrupt halt and the door was immediately thrown open.

"Karin, are you okay?!" Hitsugaya cried as he ran up to her.

"I'm fine." She said dazedly, still a little lost at the suddenness of the appearance of the carriage. Though she was excited by Hitsugaya's presence; she hadn't seen him since he'd come to give her the date of the wedding.

"Hey..." He took her hand within his own and put his other hand against her cheek. "Are you sure?"

"'Course I am." She smiled at him as her gaze cleared. "But what are you doing here?"

"Okaa-sama wanted to discuss some things with you so we were on our way to your place." He said. He led her back to the carriage with one arm at her back. He helped her up into the carriage and then climbed up himself, shutting the door after him.

"G-Good afternoon, your Highness." Karin said as she awkwardly bowed in the carriage.

"Karin." The Queen said. "How are you?"

"I am fine, thank you, your Highness. And how are you?"

The Queen chuckled. "I am also fine, thank you. Tell me, though, what were you doing here by yourself, and in such an out-of-the-way area too?"

"Ah, um...Since the wedding has been made official, I, my sister, and Orihime were on our way into town but we were separated by a throng of civilians." Karin said with a blush.

The Queen chuckled again. "Well, you know these townspeople; they are eager."

"H-Hai." Karin said, looking down.

There was silence for a while as nobody spoke. "Well, Karin, we were just on our way to the Kurosaki residence to pay you a visit but since we've come across you here, we'll just finish this now." Chikako said. She reached into the bag at her feet and pulled out a thickly bound book. "Here are some designs that I specifically picked out for you. I want you to choose one. You see, they're all in accordance to the theme that Toushirou and I agreed upon." She smiled widely as she held it out. "Take your time; we don't require it back immediately."

"H-Hai, Arigato." Karin took the book and held it upon her lap uncomfortably. Well, at least one good thing was coming out of this; she didn't have to go out of the house to choose a dress!

"We require your measurements too; I'm sure Orihime can take care of those. Oh, and if you have any of your own suggestions, please do not hesitate to voice them." Chikako said.

"Hai, your Highness." Karin replied, though if they had the details all sorted, there was no way she was going to oppose! Nobody in their right minds directly or indirectly opposed the decision and will of a royal! It was like signing your own death warrant.

It seemed that that was all that the Queen had wanted was to discuss some small things. (_They came all the way down here just to tell me that they want me to choose an outfit_? Karin thought with incredulity.) They dropped her off home (with Chikako politely refusing Karin's offer of coming inside for refreshments) and Hitsugaya helped Karin off the carriage and walked her to the door.

"I wonder which outfit you'll choose." He mused after they were out of hearing range of the Queen.

"Did you pick any?" Karin asked.

He smiled at that and shook his head. "Okaa-sama chose most of them and they're all rather extravagant." He said. "But I liked one from there."

"Really? Are you gonna wear it?" She asked with a smirk.

He looked at her with one eyebrow raised high. "Very funny."

"I know." She said with a grin. "OK, so tell me which one you chose."

"No." He said.

"Eh, why?"

"Because then you're gonna choose that one to avoid the "complicatedness" of choosing one from among so many," he said blankly, "I'd rather you chose what you wanted to wear. In this wedding, the two of us are getting very little choices to make so make the most of it."  
"I don't mind; I'm crap at making choices anyway." She shrugged.

"Karin, I'm serious; I don't want this to be completely forced on you."

"But I wanna know what Shiro-kun liked!"

"...Never mind." He sighed in exasperation and let the matter drop. They were at the door anyway. "Okaa-sama's probably going to send me over next week or so to pick up your various measurements and outfit choice so have it ready." He said as they came to a stop before the door.

"Couldn't she just send a servant or something?" She asked with a frown. It wasn't lost on her that Hitsugaya was the one who always had to come down to their house whenever they had business to discuss.

He shrugged. "Probably wants me to spend some time with you." He said.

They lapsed into silence for a while. Karin looked down and clutched the book tightly to her chest.

"What's wrong?" Hitsugaya asked.

She shook her head and smiled up at him. "It's just...I was wondering whether I'd get to see you that much for the next two and a half weeks."

He smiled sadly at that. "I'm sorry. Probably not; Okaa-sama's gonna keep me busy with perfecting the details and overseeing the decorations and stuff. So don't blame me if I look half-dead on the wedding day."

She smiled at that and then sighed. "I can't believe I'm gettin married!" She exclaimed. "It was all so sudden! I thought I had quite a few years left yet."

He smiled too and took her hand. "Me too, but father's not going to be around forever and he said that, if it's possible, he'd like to be there for when I got married."

"Yeah..."

"Toushirou, do hurry up!" Chikako suddenly called back from the carriage.

"Hai!" Hitsugaya called back. He turned back to Karin and sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have to go now. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Hai," she said with a military salute, "Sir!"

He rolled his eyes at that and brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed it. "I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too." She replied. She wanted a kiss at that point, but it'd probably look improper in front of the Queen.

Hitsugaya leant down and quickly pressed his lips against hers and immediately pulled back. "I hope Okaa-sama didn't see that." He said apprehensively. "She'll kick up a hell of a fuss about kissing before the marriage and such." He let go of Karin's hand and turned around and walked away. He turned as soon as he approached the carriage and did his characteristic stoic wave and then climbed in and drove away.

Karin sighed as she opened the door and entered the house. It was going to be a long few weeks if he wasn't going to be around.

* * *

Chapter 14 end.


	15. The Real Rukia

Sorry guys, but this chappy focuses on Ichigo and Rukia :( I know it sucks when you wanna read a HitsuKarin fic but there're other pairings in the story too, but this is just to show the _real_ Rukia a little.

And thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them!

Rukia had decided that she'd take a quiet walk in the gardens. She couldn't do with Ichigo hovering around her all the time; watching her every move unless she stayed in their bedroom. He didn't say anything to her and he didn't do anything; every time they came upon one another, he just stared. She'd had enough of it. She could try to take over Yuzu's body; the girl was so weak at heart that it'd be like taking candy from a baby. But every time Rukia was around, Yuzu's siblings kept her away. But then, if her damned cousin ever emerged out of her room then Rukia might be able to take over her body. She'd only briefly glimpsed Hinamori a few times since the ball; that was how much she kept to her room. Rukia didn't want to lose this body because she'd gotten used to it but if she wanted this body to regain its strength, she'd have to let the real Rukia take over again. But then again, she might be able to break the Kurosakis if she used this body cunningly enough. She had no doubt that Ichigo truly loved the real Rukia; after all, she did have all the real Rukia's memories and experiences, she could gauge that from those. Maybe she could use that love to her advantage. Maybe...if the real Rukia's soul took over the body once again, and she herself remained within this body but at the back, undetected, sleeping and when she took over the body again...the Kurosakis would break...she'd make sure of that.

* * *

Ichigo walked into his bedroom, ready to fall into bed and sleep but he was surprised. As soon as the door opened, a foot came flying at his face.

"Wha...?!" He cried out as he staggered back by the suddenness of the blow, but it hadn't been forcefully at all; it had been rather weak. "Rukia!"

"Oh, my mistake!" Rukia said cheerfully, "I thought you were the one who was keeping me here. Hey, Kurosaki, you look older, how d'ya manage that? And where is this place?" She looked around the dimly lit bedroom in wonder. "And, I'm hungry."

Ichigo froze momentarily at her behaviour. "R-Rukia?"

She turned back to face him with a frown. "What? What're you looking so stupefied for, Strawberry? You seen a ghost?"

"R-Rukia..." He said softly, unbelievingly. He stepped cautiously forward towards her. "I-Is that really you?"

She continued to frown. "What is the matter with you, Ichigo?" She asked in puzzlement. "Why are you acting as if you haven't seen me for...?"

"Rukia, don't you remember what happened?" He asked.

She gazed at him blankly as question marks appeared all around her head. "Eh?"

He sighed softly and looked away. "Don't you remember what happened...when we went to that ruined graveyard?"

She thought back. She did remember going to such a graveyard. "Actually...now that you mention it...the last thing I remember is walking into a single underground tomb. What happened? Why can't I remember getting here? Where is here? Ichigo?" She sounded rather alarmed now.

Ichigo walked past her and went to the window and leant against it. His posture was stiff and his head was hanging low. "We...got married...Rukia."

Rukia's gaze went wide as she froze. She stood there unmoving as Ichigo turned around again.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me." He said blankly as he walked out. The door closed after him and still, Rukia remained rooted to the spot.

Had she heard right? Married? Her? With Ichigo? But it was absurd! They hadn't even courted before! At least, not that she remembered. But...But Ichigo was her friend! Sure, they had a good friendship, but marriage?! It was irrational!

She hurried over to the door and roughly pushed it open. "Strawberry!" She yelled.

Ichigo halted halfway down the stairs. He turned back as she ran to the banister and looked down at him.

"What...What happened?" She asked breathlessly. She was feeling so weak at that moment.

"Come downstairs and I'll explain if you want." He said as he continued walking down.

* * *

"You were inhabited by the spirit of some centuries-old Queen-to-be or something but this woman, apparently, was knowledgeable in magic and she attempted to kill her to-be husband and she was buried alive. She then had a vision or something that she was going to get a pathway to power or something. Her rightful power, she called it. And then you went into her tomb and she possessed you and then she said that stickin wit me would get her to her "rightful power" quicker and...We got married not long after. But make no mistake, I thought it was you." Ichigo looked up at Rukia with a blank gaze but his tightly clenched and shaking fists betrayed what he was really feeling.

Rukia's gaze was full of confusion. "What is all this, Ichigo? Spirits, magic, visions?"

"I know it's hard to believe but that is what happened and you've been gone for about a year and your body has been control by another." He stood up and made to go.

"So this is your house? But I don't know anyone here!" She cried. "And I don't know my way round!"

"Can't help you there, though Hinamori is here too." He shrugged.

Rukia paused. "Eh? Hinamori? Why?" She asked quietly, surprised.

"Apparently the spirit thing said that in the vision that she had prior to taking over your body, she saw Hinamori dancing with the Prince of this country and she was under her influence." He shrugged.

"Under her influence? So, Hinamori isn't herself?" She asked.

"No, she's just a little depressed because the spirit thing's plan didn't work out but Hinamori's potential position as the wife of the future King was destroyed." He sighed deeply.

"Hinamori as the wife of the future King?!" She exclaimed. "B-But, Hinamori's what, one in a million?"

"I know, but she was somehow able to catch his attention by some magic or somethin, I think." Ichigo felt really weird at that point, because he wasn't used to talking about affection and such. "In the end, she was turned down and she's been depressed ever since. She refuses to come out of her room."

Rukia paused thoughtfully. Her cousin was hurt...emotionally it would seem. Hinamori was from a sub-branch of the Kuchiki and all the branches of the Kuchiki clan had the same view on emotional attachment. _So, my cousin, you became attached to someone too, it would seem. How foolish, to think that you could steal the heart of the future King of this foreign land_. She didn't blame the girl for trying, but the PRINCE? Back at the home, it would have been understandable for someone from nobility to marry into royalty, but this wasn't their home, they weren't known here, and thus it was foolish on Hinamori's part to think that she could be accepted by the Prince. "So, what happened?" She asked.

Ichigo smiled suddenly, "The Prince became interested in someone else and they're gonna get married; thus foiling the spirit thingy's spell."

"Well, and good for them." She said. There was a small silence and then her stomach growled. She only realised then how _hungry_ she was. "Why am I feeling so weak, Ichigo? And why am I so hungry?"

"Well, see, you haven't eaten properly in about two weeks." Ichigo began sheepishly.

"Bastard! You've been starving me?!" She demanded incredulously. She proceeded to punch him in the gut, but no effect. "Ugh! Dammit! I'm so weak!"

He caught her fist easily in one hand. "Rukia, the idea was that if we stopped giving you food at every mealtime, the spirit wouldn't be able to handle the hunger but she stayed. I'm sorry." He said gravely.

She stopped trying to get her hand out of his grasp and gazed up at him blankly.

...and then, "BAKA NA! WHAT KIND OF STRATEGY IS THAT!?" She screamed. "YOU IDIOT, ICHIGO, I COULD HAVE DIED!" She looked around the room and, seeing as though there was nothing worth throwing, she took her shoe off and lobbed it at his head. She smirked in satisfaction as it hit Ichigo square in the forehead and he staggered back.

"Dammit it, woman, what d'ya do that fer?!" Ichigo yelled.

"IT SERVES YOU RIGHT FOR TREATIN ME THE WAY YOU DID!" She snapped.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!"

"WELL, SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!"

"What's all the noise?" Another voice said groggily.

Rukia let go of Ichigo's throat (where she'd been unsuccessfully trying to throttle him) and looked to where the voice was coming from. A dark-haired girl with dark eyes stood leaning casually against the doorframe, regarding the two of them tiredly.

"Ichi-Nii, is she giving you trouble?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"Ichi-Nii?" Rukia asked, looking from the girl to Ichigo. "Then, you must be Karin-chan, right?"

"Don't you know that already?" Karin asked as she walked towards them. "So, what's goin on? Was she bein troublesome again?"

Rukia was a little offended at being referred to as if she weren't there, but then she surmised that the girl was talking about the "spirit thing", as Ichigo called it.

"No, it's alright, Karin." Ichigo suddenly grinned. "The _real_ Rukia's back."

The girl's eyebrow rose as she stood up straight and she stopped just short of Rukia and gazed down at her with a frown. "The real Rukia, huh?" She said sceptically. "How d'ya know?"

"Observe." Ichigo said importantly. "Hey, short stuff, why're you so short?" To increase the effect, he bent down so that his eyes were level with hers and put a hand on her head. "Man, you're real short! I feel a backache comin!"

Rukia bristled. He wanted a reaction? Fine! She fell to the floor as one arm shot out to support her weight and she kicked at his legs. Fortunately for her, she had enough energy in her legs so that Ichigo tumbled from the force of her thrust. "How's the view from down there, Strawberry?" She asked as she glared at him. Multiple veins had popped upon her face. Clearly, he had taunted her with a clear view in mind of what the consequences would be. He was trying to prove to this girl that she was the real Rukia? That should have been proof enough!

"Quite nice, thanks." Ichigo said dryly as she stood over him. "See what I mean, Karin? The Rukia that I know is volatile, short-tempered and _aggressive_."

"Uh-huh..." Karin said with a raised eyebrow. "Just like you, then?" She held her hand out to Rukia, who looked in puzzlement at her, and said, "Hi, I guess we haven't been formally introduced yet but I'm Karin, that idiot's sister." She grinned as she jerked a thumb towards her brother, who was now getting up.

"Hey!" Ichigo protested.

"OK, pleased to meet you, Karin, I'm Rukia Kuchiki...Kurosaki...?" She faltered at the last and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Karin asked.

"I...Nothing!" Rukia smiled at the girl and shook her hand. "So, I guess you're my sister-in-law, huh?"

"Yeah, one of two." Karin smiled back.

"The other one is...Yuzu?" Rukia suggested.

"Yeah."

"Ichigo talked about his sisters all the time back at University."

"Really?" Karin looked to her brother and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Ichigo looked away. "Aw, Ichi-Nii, you softie!" She teased.

"Shut up..." He muttered darkly.

"So, what other "softie" things did Ichi-Nii do at that place?" Karin asked eagerly.

"Well, I don't know if it'd be classed as a "softie" thing but I heard that in lessons, he always used to zone out and then when sensei asked him a question, he'd stand up and shout really loudly, "Ka-chan, I almost got it!" out of nowhere!" Rukia laughed as she thought back. But the laughter soon died in her throat. There were probably more memories of a whole year that she hadn't gotten to witness. But something was sitting in the back of her mind...not too long ago, when she'd felt as if she'd been stirred from sleep a little.

_Then tell me you don't love me_.

It had been indisputably Ichigo's voice and she felt as if...for some weird reason...she'd been about to answer "I don't love you" but she'd held back, because she did love him. She'd known she loved him not long after she'd first met him. She'd poured all her willpower into not uttering those words, because it was as if _something_ was blocking her off from talking, from seeing what was going on. All she'd seen was a thick white fog that rendered all her five senses useless.

"Hey, you ok?" Karin asked.

Rukia shook off the thoughts of the past and smiled at Karin. "I'm fine, just a little tired."

"You should go rest."

"Where? In _his_ room, in _his_ bed?" Rukia asked suspiciously, pointing at Ichigo almost accusingly.

"Geez..." Ichigo grumbled. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Come to my room or go wherever." He said as he trudged out of the room.

"Oh, well, seeya later Rukia." Karin also said as she walked out of the room too, towards the kitchens.

And so, Rukia was left to her own devices. She sank down onto the sofa.

A whole _year_...A whole _year_ gone by...just like that...

...How on earth did this happen? Rukia was usually careful with her time...how had she lost a whole _year_?

Excluding the now bygone year, she'd met Ichigo almost three years ago, and they'd never even shown one another any feelings of affection. How had this happened?

_

* * *

_

Three years ago (in Rukia's memory, four years in actuality):

It was Rukia Kuchiki's first year at University. She didn't have any friends; she was too high up in the nobility to be taken seriously by the lower-class students and too outlandish to be taken seriously by the upper-classes. She used to have one friend; one of her lecturers for her course. His name was Kaien Shiba and he'd treated her...normally. She had tried to deny it, thinking it unnecessary for her studies, but she'd had deep feelings for him and when the news had spread that he had died (during her first few months), it had shattered her. She'd withdrawn completely after that.

She sighed as she walked along the shaded path, clutching her books tightly to her chest. Why had she gotten herself attached to Kaien anyway? He had merely been a teacher and she was merely a student, nothing could have happened between them. And plus, he had a wife already. But...it had felt as though they'd been on a more personal level than normal student/teacher relationships; he'd taught her a great deal about life. She'd learnt so much from him. She sighed again and abruptly bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch it, ya little midget!" A cold voice suddenly said.

"Ah, G-Gomen." She stammered as she looked up at the man. She immediately froze.

_This guy...This guy looks like_...She thought. She looked carefully at the features of the orange-haired man before her. There was no mistaking the similarity, but...ORANGE HAIR?! "Do you colour your hair?" She asked without thinking.

"What?" He grunted. "No, I don't, and it's none of your business anyway."

"Why are you still standing in my way?" She asked.

"I'm waitin for an apology, ya twerp." He said with a scowl.

"But I already apolo...WHAT?! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I APOLOGISE, YOU CARROT-TOP!" She yelled.

"You're the one who was looking down when you shoulda been lookin up." He retorted.

"Sorry, but I don't usually expect people to bang into me just like that!" She snapped.

"Yeah, well seein as though you're so freakin short, I totally missed that you were actually there!"

"Well, we're not all lofty giants like you!"

"I'm not a lofty giant." He said calmly. "I'm just taller than you, way taller."

Rukia was starting to like this boy...Even though she didn't want to admit it. He talked just like Kaien, he looked like him, and he treated her as he had. "Shut up, Carrot-top." She muttered. "Now get out of my way before you lose something."

"Are you threatenin me, midget?" He asked, bending down so that his eyes were level with hers. "Oh man, the strain of bendin down so low! Oh, this is unbelievable! You're so freakin short!"

Rukia's face was a mess of popped veins and she grunted something incoherent (very unladylike) and dropped to the ground with one arm snapping out to support her weight upon the ground as she swept his legs out from under him. He hadn't been expecting it so he fell heavily.

"How's the view from down there, Carrot-top?" She said, grinning evilly as she stood above him. She was glad nobody else was around them at that moment. The paths that she usually took were rather secluded so it was almost guaranteed that not many people would be around, that was why she'd let herself drift so carelessly into her thoughts.

"Is this now you usually see things, midget?" He asked as he got up. "Everything looks _so_ big!"

The look of triumph faded from Rukia's expression and she resumed her glare. "Shut up," She then made to walk past him but he called out to her after she had gotten a mere few feet.

"Say, midget, what's your name?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him and said, "Kuchiki. Rukia Kuchiki."

"K...Kuchiki?" He asked slowly. "The Princess, huh?" He said sceptically. "Well, later Princess." He waved once and walked away without another word.

Rukia stared after him with narrowed eyes. Was it her or had his attitude changed minimally after he heard her name? She sighed and continued to walk on. _So, not like Kaien-dono. Not like Kaien-dono at all_. She thought regrettably.

Later, when her lessons had finished and she was on her way home, she bumped into the man again. And surprisingly, she _literally_ bumped into him.

"Do you make it a habit to look down every time you're walkin, Hime-sama?" He asked mockingly.

"Why, do you make it a habit to deliberately stand in people's way when they're walking?" She asked with the same mocking tone.

He grinned at that. "Nah, not really." He reached a hand out and placed it flat on her head. He bent down and looked into her eyes and said seriously, "Short stuff." He let her go as a vein bulged on her forehead and walked away.

He'd scarce gotten a few feet when he was thrown to the ground. Rukia was mad so she'd charged him and knocked him to the ground and now sat on his back. "You dare mock me, Carrot-top?" She said menacingly.

"Get off, midget." He grunted. "People are starin at you."

That made her pause. She then jumped up and looked around frantically but there was no one around. "You liar." She said to the now standing Ichigo.

"The name's Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki. Pleased to meet you, hime." He said cynically.

"Do not mock me." She growled.

"What're you gonna do, hime?" He taunted.

She punched his gut in answer and he doubled over. She smirked in triumph but then he immediately straightened up and grinned. "Takes a lot more than a midget to hurt me." He said.

"Oh, yeah?" She said and then kicked him in the groin.

He groaned in pain as he fell, eyes losing focus for a while and hands clutching his nether regions.

"How's that, Strawberry?" She smirked.

"You're lucky I don't hit women." He said icily as he shakily stood up and walked away. Rukia harrumphed and stalked off in the opposite direction. _Hmm, what an incompetent fool_, she thought sourly. But she thought about him a lot after that.

The next day, he deliberately sought her out and asked her to sit with his buddies for lunch seeing as though she was eating alone anyway. At first, she was extremely uncomfortable in his group; they were all loud and boisterous, especially the guy with the chin-length brown hair who thought himself to be quite a comedian. But then she sort of relaxed, because they all gave her a warm welcome and asked her loads of questions about what she was doing at the University, how long she'd been there for, what she aspired to be. These were normal people who didn't look down on her. After that realization, she got along with them fine. They asked her to eat with them the following day and pretty soon it became customary. But she didn't talk to Ichigo much during the collective lunch gatherings; they just exchanged little comments about whatever everybody else was discussing.

The moment when Rukia really started to realise that she had feelings for Ichigo was when she got into a fight with some of the boys from her class. It was some couple of weeks after she'd first met the orange-haired man and it had been in a rather secluded part of the University grounds and the students had come quietly behind her and one of them immediately gagged her and then threw her to the ground. When she saw the bunch of them, she saw that they were upper-class. They had a vendetta against her because she was from a lower class and she'd been given the position of nobility effortlessly. They kicked her a few times, in the stomach, and she coughed up copious amounts of blood. She tried to get up to fight back but they were having none of it; they didn't even let her rise to her knees before kicking her down again.

And then out of nowhere, one of the three boys was hurled aside and the other two turned around in surprise to see what had happened. They saw one very angry-looking orange-haired man.

"What do you guys think you're doin?" He said venomously.

"Huh!" One of the boys said and then turned to face Ichigo and threw a punch. Ichigo ducked easily and then kicked the guy in the gut and then thrust a consecutive kick to the guy's head. The guy went flying to land in a painful heap some ways away. "Bastard!" The remaining boy yelled as he charged at Ichigo. Ichigo dropped to the floor and aimed a sweeping kick at the boy's knees. The boy toppled and Ichigo stood up and went over to Rukia.

He didn't say anything to her at first, just checked her injuries and then lifted her up easily and walked away. "I'm sorry." He whispered after a while of walking with her.

"What for?" She asked over the blood that still lined her mouth.

"I should have come sooner." He said solemnly.

"Baka, that's not your fault." She said softly. She slowly lost consciousness after that.

After that incident, Ichigo always escorted her whenever he could get the time. She thought he was just being paranoid but she didn't say anything to him, instead enjoying his company. When they weren't fighting (which was almost always a given), they actually could talk like humans (with occasional cynical remarks from either party). Rukia grew attached to him and she hated herself for it. Her clan, the Kuchiki, cared nothing for attachments and such abstracts as friendship or love. Though, her "older brother" was in love with her real sister and that was one of the reasons why Rukia was now a Kuchiki; her sister, Hisana Kuchiki, had asked her husband, Byakuya Kuchiki, if he could accept her sister into their household, and because Byakuya loved his wife very much, he'd done as she asked. Hisana had been told previously that she didn't have long to live so Byakuya was trying to keep her at peace for as long as possible. At the most, the doctors had said that she'd survive two-three years.

That was another thing that was getting Rukia depressed these days. Ichigo always enquired why she was so upset and then he'd start guiltily because he'd given away the fact that he'd been looking at her. Rukia would shake her head with a small smile and say that it was nothing. He didn't believe her but he let the matter drop. So, in that way, Ichigo knew little about Rukia by the end of their first year, aside from the fact that she was from a wealthy family and she'd had a lot of trouble since coming to study. And it wasn't actually until four months after they met that they found out what the other studied; Rukia studied literature and Ichigo was studying biology and medicine for when he took over his father's business.

In the little less than three years that they'd known one another, they always kept a specific distance from one another. It wasn't clear why they kept a distance but, by mutual agreement, they never went too far into discussing their home lives and their pasts. Ichigo talked about his sisters a lot though; he was so proud of them. He talked the most about the one called Karin (probably because, by the sounds of it, she was more like him than the gentle-sounding Yuzu; rebellious, fun-loving, and carefree). He always bragged about what a good fighter she was and how he'd taught her himself. But it was always sweet to hear him let down his guard sometimes and tell Rukia of the two people he cared most for in the world.

They became really good friends but abstained from mistaking that relationship as anything beyond.

And then Hisana died in the third year of Rukia's course at University and she became depressed. As the weeks wore on, she always walked around in a haze and refused to look at anybody, even Ichigo. But he dragged her to that deserted place, the ruined graveyard, because the whole gang had thought that it would be a good idea if Rukia went someplace new; it might help clear her mind. But then they'd been so noisy and they'd overdone it with the politeness and she'd had to bolt from them, anywhere quiet so she'd gone through the mausoleum door and into the caves below and into any random tomb. She heard Ichigo calling out behind her but she didn't stop and then, she heard a voice, as if it were coming from all over the room...

..._Freedom, freedom at last_!

And then she'd woken up in Ichigo's bedroom. She sighed and hurried up the stairs to the room where she'd emerged out of before.

A dull lamp shone on the bedside table.

"I-Ichigo...?" She said slowly.

There was sudden movement upon the bed as Ichigo shifted and looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"C-can I sleep with you?" She asked hesitantly.

He continued to gaze at her unblinkingly for a while and then pushed the covers back and walked over to her. "Do you love me, Rukia?" He asked softly.

She stared up at him sadly for a while and then looked down. "H-Hai..."

"Good, because I love you too." He said seriously. She gazed back up at him hopefully. "C'mon, let's go to sleep." He said softly.

"Ichi...go..." She said softly and then she put her hands up to her face and she cried, for the death of her teacher those few years ago, the death of her sister, straying from her friends, getting married when she wasn't even her own person, and coming to in Ichigo's bedroom with no idea how she got there at all and what she was doing there, and then having been told that she'd missed a whole _year_ of her life.

"Hey, come on, it's okay." Ichigo pulled his arms about her waist and pulled her close.

How many times that he kissed Rukia in the past years? How many times had they slept together? And it hadn't even been the girl he loves at that but some...spirit...thing. His marriage was phoney because he hadn't gotten married to Rukia Kuchiki; he'd gotten married to some dead spirit, and he himself hadn't been his own person this past year either; it had taken for the suffering of his little sister to bring him back to his senses. "Come on, let's go to sleep." He said softly, leading her towards the bed.

"Ok." She mumbled as she let herself be led to the bed.

They'd been laying with their backs to one another for a minute or so when Rukia turned around to face his back. "Ne, Ichigo, can...can we renew our...marriage vows?" She asked softly.

Ichigo froze a little and then paused. "You still want to be a Kurosaki?" He asked quietly.

"...Hai."

He turned around and faced her. "For real?"

She nodded.

"What about the actual weddin?" He asked.

"I'm not bothered about that; as far as the rest of the world is concerned; we've already had our wedding, right?" She shrugged. She supposed that she wasn't like the other girls that she knew. Those girls were absolutely thrilled at the thought of their wedding and getting a fabulous dress to wear.

He smiled a small smile at that and wrapped an arm about her waist and pulled her towards him. "I'm sorry." He said solemnly.

"What for? Nothing's your fault." She said in response. She put a hand up to his cheek and caressed it gently. "I love you..." She muttered.

He took a hold of her hand and held it within his own and brought it to his lips and kissed it. "I love you too, Rukia." He leant towards her a little and gave her a kiss on the lips. "We'll discuss this in the morning, ok? Get some sleep."

This was, in essence, the beginning of their relationship.

In the back of Rukia's mind, the spirit looked on with smugness. _This isn't over_...

* * *

How's that? I was actually gonna incorporate some HitsuKarin fluff but it wouldn't have fit in and if I'd sorted the context out, the chapter woulda become too long.

Hope you enjoyed readin it, enjoy!


	16. Choosing

Awesome, DOUBLE UPDATE! How nice am I? :D

Anywho, the conduct of the characters in their respectective roles over the next two of three chappies might not suit them well. You'll see what I mean. And the people act really weirdly, not befitting the times and norms of this place but as I mentioned in the earlier author notes at the start of the story, this is a nowhere society in a nowhere time with a nowhere religion with a nowhere tradition :D There's just a mixture of everything that I know thrown into there so please don't mind, I suck at stickin to one thing

Oh, an BlakValentyne-U69, I might just consider your idea! :D I'm not usually one for IchiRuki but I'll try! Thanks! And thanks to all y'all for supporting this story! Much appreciated...

The servants were astounded the next morning when the master and mistress of the house emerged downstairs hand in hand and with wide grins on their faces. And even though they didn't have a clue as to what had happened in the family, they knew that something had changed.

Yuzu and Karin were no different. They were both having breakfast in the kitchen when the bright-haired man and dark-haired woman emerged. Ichigo went to get some breakfast, dragging her with him. They had a little make out session while the milk boiled, scaring the hell out of Karin.

"I'm going to be sick..." Karin muttered sourly as she gagged.

"I think it's sweet!" Yuzu smiled as she gazed at them.

"Yuzu! That ain't some entertainment show, stop lookin! It's disturbing!" Karin exclaimed, twisting her sister around.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu protested as she nearly fell off her chair. "Fine." She turned away from the kissing couple and turned back to her sister. "So, have you picked out a dress yet?" She asked eagerly.

Karin shrugged.

"Karin-chan! Nii-sama is coming today, isn't he?" Yuzu asked.

"Why are you callin him 'Nii-sama'? We're not even married yet!" Karin said in exasperation. Her sister had suddenly taken to calling Hitsugaya 'Nii-sama', reasoning that he was soon going to be her brother.

"So? You will be soon!" She said.

"What're you guys talkin about?" Ichigo asked as he came up to them, having fixed himself and his wife some breakfast. He bid Rukia to sit down opposite Karin and then took a seat beside her.

"Yuzu's taken to calling Toushirou Nii-sama." Karin scoffed.

"So?" Ichigo said.

"Who's Toushirou?" Rukia asked.

"Karin's husband..." Yuzu said in puzzlement. Surely Rukia knew? She'd stayed a night at the palace!

"...A.k.a the Prince." Ichigo grinned.

"The Prince?" Rukia asked in surprise. She thought back to the story that Ichigo had told her last night about her cousin being turned down by the future King. "Whoa, congratulations."

"Thanks." Karin grumbled. She wished her family would stop kicking up such a big fuss about her wedding. She wasn't even fond of weddings so she didn't know how she was going to take this one. This was going to be a grand affair; a Prince getting married was a big deal after all. If it was up to Karin what kind of wedding they had, she'd pick the smallest shrine and invite only her siblings. But no! Of course it wasn't going to work like that! Most, if not all, of the nobility was going to be there and relatives of Toushirou's from all over the country; the other Dukes and Duchesses and such. She wasn't going to like this one bit. But at least she'd be happy in the knowledge that Toushirou would be suffering too. She grinned at the thought.

"So..." Ichigo began slyly, noting the sudden grin, "Can't keep our mind off a certain someone, can we?"

"Shut up, idiot!" Karin said as a vein popped in her forehead.

"Ano, Onii-chan, Karin-chan, please don't fight!" Yuzu said worriedly as she tried to appease the oncoming fight.

"I'm not an idiot!" He snapped.

"Sure act like one!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me, _idiot_!"

"Karin..." He growled menacingly.

"Oi, stop it!" Yuzu said forcefully, standing up and pushing the two of them back down into their seats (from where they'd risen as the argument went on). The two reluctantly obliged and got on with breakfast. Rukia grinned at them, liking the "normal" atmosphere of their house. She'd get along fine here.

* * *

Orihime was beginning to have rather strange feelings for two certain men and she didn't like it. She tried to convince herself that she merely saw the two men as nicer than average middle class guys but as soon as she saw one of them, her heart began to speed up erratically and she flushed. She knew one of them returned some of the feelings she felt because Karin had told her that that man did not often come to the Kurosaki residence and he'd already come three times this week. But what was she to do? She couldn't just go up to him and start hanging around with him; it just wasn't proper. She wasn't like Karin; she thought too much of what people would think if they saw that man with a mere maid. Karin had noticed this mutual attraction and she'd urged Orihime to have a word with Ishida but Orihime vigorously opposed the idea. But then there was Ichigo. She thought too much about him too. It wasn't healthy.

She sighed as she walked around in the gardens. She then accidentally bumped into someone. With dread, she realised it was Rukia, and they were alone here. She was sure the woman was going to rip her heart out this time for all the occasions that she'd been let off the hook from punishment. Not that Orihime thought she deserved to be saved; she was a maid, after all, she was getting paid to be ordered what to do so she had to do it right, and doing something wrong deserved severe punishment.

"S-S-Sumimasen, Kurosaki-san!" She said, bowing deeply at the waist, "I'm...I'm really sorry. It was my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going! I beg your pardon!" She cried, eyes shut tight as if expecting a blow.

But nothing happened.

She opened one eye slowly and straightened up. Rukia was looking at her strangely, dark eyes blinking repeatedly as she observed the orange-haired maid before her. "Ehhhhhhhhh? Who're you?" She asked in puzzlement, "Ichigo said no maids worked here."

Orihime's gaze went blank. _Th-That's nice_, she thought dazedly, _so she doesn't even know who I am_. "M-My name is Orihime Inoue. I am Karin-san's personal maid sent from the castle." She replied methodically. "I was ordered to come here after the night that you spent at the palace, Kurosaki-san." She bowed politely.

"Oh, of course, of course! Right...well...carry on...Inoue..." Rukia said, trying to act natural but failing completely.

"H-Hai, Kurosaki-san." Orihime said. She then quickly walked away, thinking that maybe the petite woman's attitude had only momentarily disappeared and she'd be back with a vengeance anytime soon.

Rukia stared after the orange-haired maid in confusion.

* * *

Karin was pouring through the pages of the book with the suggestions for dresses from the Queen. There were so many to choose from, and like Hitsugaya had said, most of them were rather extravagant. Karin didn't want anything extravagant. Truth be told, if she had found a plain simple robe in the book with no embroidery of any kind, she'd have probably chosen that one. But there was no such garment.

"Man, this is gettin tedious..." She mumbled as she looked through the book for the thousandth time since she'd received it. The measurements had all been taken (by Orihime) and all that remained was choosing the damn dress. "Who'd have thought choosin somethin to wear woulda been so irritating...?" She wanted to roughly grab the book and toss it out the window but she couldn't; Hitsugaya would be back for it later in the day. She had a few choices but she thought them far too elaborate. _Why can't nobility and royalty ever stick with somethin simple?_ She complained to herself. She yawned hugely as she turned yet another page._ Who would have thought lookin through a damn book would be so drainin? I feel like my brain's goin numb_.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu cried as she flung the door to Karin's bedroom open.

"Oh, hey Yuzu." Karin said as she turned to face her sister.

"So, have you chosen one yet?" Yuzu asked eagerly as she came to sit down next to her sister on the bed.

"Nope." Karin replied.

"Nii-sama's going to be here soon." Yuzu warned.

"Stop callin him 'Nii-sama'." The dark-haired girl sighed.

"Why? He is going to be my older brother, right?"

"Yeah, 'going to be', not 'is."

Yuzu puffed a cheek out, as she did almost all the time when Karin had any kind of minor argument with her. Karin sighed deeply and went back to browsing through the hated book. "What about that one?" Yuzu said helpfully.

"Yuzu, stop pointin out every dress you see! It's not helpin any!" Karin said in exasperation.

"Sorry."

Yuzu got up and left not long after, leaving Karin to her skimming. After half an hour, Karin decided that she'd pick out the simplest garments and then choose one of those. It was boring work. It took her the better part of an hour to see which dresses she liked and which ones she didn't. She then carefully analysed all the potential choices and ticked off the ones that were too stylish. _GOD, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SENSE AND SIMPLICITY?!_ She screamed into her head.

She had finally, after a painstaking examination of the costumes, narrowed her choices down to three dresses: one sleeveless with workable length, one short-ish with puffy sleeves and one overly long with full, _broad_ sleeves. She crossed out the overly long one because she wanted freedom of movement for _both_ hands and feet. She then mentally crossed off the short one because it looked to be a little too short and it was tight-fitting (she didn't like tight-fitting things) and the puffy sleeves were just ridiculous. The sleeveless one was okay because the skirt on it was quite wide with loads of pleats and the bodice wasn't too tight (so as to actually let her breathe, oh the joy!). It looked to be made of a shiny, silken material of dark blue colour, almost black, with some silver glitter (by the looks of it, from the image) speckled over the skirt, making it look like a midnight sky. Karin liked midnight blue, and she liked looking at the stars, so that was a plus. She hated to admit it to herself, but she thought it looked kind of cute too, with the broad silver ribbon just fixed where the skirt attached to the upper part of the dress. It fastened at the back with a zip but a long length of the ribbon hung off the side of the dress and could be used to show off more of the wearer's figure (as demonstrated in the picture) by tying the ribbon back really tightly. She had deduced that this was the simplest dress in the book and therefore, the one that she would choose.

_I wonder what Toushirou's gonna wear_, she thought as she put the book on the bedside table with a huge relieved sigh. A sudden image of a clown suit popped into her head but, try as she might, she just could not picture the Prince wearing it. _Ok, what about a tux?_ She thought. _That's too easy_! Though she had to admit, Hitsugaya in a tuxedo looked _hot_. _OK, next one; jester's outfit_, she thought. She nearly burst out laughing at that._ And add some juggling balls and a ridiculous tri-sectioned hat with bells at the end, and there you have it; court jester_. The next outfit that she tried to imagine Hitsugaya in was that of a nurse, strangely. She nearly had a heart attack from trying not to laugh out loud. That was too hilarious! But she couldn't picture it.

She continued to play the game of try-to-imagine-Toushirou-in-creepy-outfits and eventually slipped into sleep.

She was shaken awake by Yuzu sometime later. "Karin-chan, get up!" Yuzu loudly, tapping her sister's shoulder. Karin turned around in her position and went back to sleep. "Karin-chan! Ojii-sama is here!" Yuzu shook her harder.

"Wha...?!" Karin bolted up at the sound of "Ojii-sama" and dashed out of the room. Yuzu sighed. Karin ran back to the room and got the book and then ran back out again. She was half asleep as she ran down the stairs. She misjudged the distance of one step and stumbled and fell...into the arms of the waiting Prince. Many of the servants who had come out to see the Prince grinned.

"Hey." Hitsugaya said with a blank face as she flushed angrily and stood up straight, trying to preserve _some_ modicum of dignity. "Ahem. Hi, sorry about that." She held the book out to him and he took it. "Would you like something to eat?" She asked, rubbing her eyes of sleep.

"No, thank you." He said.

"Alright, then, shall we take a walk?"

"By all means."

They exited the house and Hitsugaya went over to the carriage and dropped the book in there. Karin was a little disappointed that he hadn't brought Isamu along. "Can I see which outfit you picked?" Hitsugaya said.

"No," She replied.

"You have marked it off though, right?"

"Yeah, along with the measurements."

"So, you know I'm going to look anyway?"

"...I guess."

He grinned and grasped her hand within his own. "One week and I unbelievably missed you." He muttered.

"Me too." She gazed at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "So, we're gettin married in one and a half weeks, how're you feelin?"

He smiled at that and said, "I'm doin ok. What about you?"

"The same." She replied. They lapsed into a silence neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Karin thought back to the past week, since she'd last seen Hitsugaya. She had to admit, it had been tough. She'd missed him so badly! Yuzu had caught her looking out of the drawing room window once with a faraway look in her eye and she'd asked her if she was alright. Karin hadn't replied so Yuzu had repeated her question loudly. Karin had jolted back to reality and yelled, "Toushirou!" Yuzu had thought it had been hilarious when her sister had looked around and, upon realising that Toushirou was nowhere near, flushed a deep red. Karin had missed him terribly.

They entered the gardens and continued to walk. Karin sidled closer to him and slipped an arm through his.

"Oh, wait, I saw somethin I thought you might find useful." He suddenly said and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a leaflet of sorts and handed it to her, suppressing a smirk as he did so.

Karin took the leaflet with curiosity but then went deadpan when she read what the front cover said.

**DON KANONJI'S SPIRIT SERVICE**

**Smells like Bad Spirits!**

There was a picture of a dark-skinned man in a bizarre outfit with a weird moustache, holding a cane in an action pose.

Karin's eyebrow shot up as she turned to face the grinning Hitsugaya. "Is this is joke?" She asked flatly.

"Obviously." He said blankly.

"You have a lousy sense of humour." She said blankly. "So lame..." She whacked the back of his head with the leaflet.

A vein popped in his forehead. "Shut up."

"Make me, Hitsugaya." She taunted.

"You want me to make you shut up?" He asked, eyebrows raised high.

"Well, you wouldn't get very far even if you tried because I can keep going on about useless things for..."

She was cut off as Hitsugaya grabbed her head with both hands and roughly kissed her on the lips. "How's that?" He asked triumphantly as he pulled back.

A flushing Karin shook her head and glared at him. "No fair!"

"Why isn't it?" He asked calmly. "It shut you up."

She playfully shoved him but he hadn't been expecting it so he stumbled back and he was still holding onto her so they toppled in a heap onto the floor. "What an idiot!" She exclaimed as she sat up. She realised with some embarrassment that she was sitting astride his abdomen, with one leg on 

either side. She hastily made to get up but there was a sudden gasp behind them. _Oh...shit,_ she thought with dread as she looked over her shoulder.

Rukia was standing behind the two of them, and it looked like she had just come back from the gardens. "Ah, G-gomen!" She said before scurrying away.

Karin was flushing a deep red as she watched the older woman go._ OK, that's definitely goin back to Ichi-Nii_, she thought in despair.

"I know you simply love sitting over there but, if it's all the same, I'd rather be on my feet." Hitsugaya said blankly.

She cleared her head and looked down at him, to find that she was still straddling him. "Oh yeah? What if I don't move?" She challenged, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're being childish." He said with a roll of the eyes.

"Uh-huh, well if it's childish, then I suppose..." She knelt over him, dark hair falling down to tickle his face, supporting herself by firmly planting her fists on either side of his head, and leant down towards him. Her lips parted a little as her mouth drew closer to his...closer...closer...

"KARIN-CHAN!"

Karin jerked back as if she'd physically been thrown off. She flushed madly as she looked to her sister. Hitsugaya sat up, hiding a small smirk. "What is it, Yuzu?" She asked.

"N-Nothing..." Yuzu said in a small voice. She was blushing furiously at the scene that she had intruded upon. "Sorry..." She immediately retreated.

_Damn it, Yuzu_, Karin thought as she stood up. She was going to get double hell from her siblings about this later. "Come on," She took Hitsugaya's hand and led him farther into the gardens.

Hitsugaya smiled in amusement as he followed her.

"Alright, a little privacy! Finally!" She said as they approached her favourite tree. She walked to the side of it and began to make her way haphazardly through the hidden path to the small patch of ground behind the cover of the trees.

"Wow, you cleaned it up." Hitsugaya said as he looked around at the place.

"Yup!" She grinned. "This place is awesome!"

She had indeed cleaned it up. All the weeds were gone and the ground was covered in soft earth. "So, what exactly would you do here?" He asked.

She shrugged, "I dunno. Nothin, this is where I come to think."

He smiled at that and pulled her closer and circled his arms about her waist. "About what?" He asked softly.

"My fantasies." She said blankly, somewhat ruining the atmosphere.

"What?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.

"It was a joke." She sighed. "I just come here to think about...things."

"Like what?"

"Like...You, life..._My_ life..." She said with a slight blush.

"So, tell me about your life." He said softly, gently pushing her head against his shoulder. His chin went to rest upon the top of her head and he sighed in contentment. Just being this close to her dispelled some of the worries he had. He had to oversee the development with the venue, he had to look over the food supplies in the kitchens and all the seating positions and such. It had really bothered him that he just had to watch from the sidelines while the servants did all the work so he'd tried to help out as much as possible but that had only succeeded in making the servants uncomfortable. He'd been somewhat distraught these past few days what with everything that was going on and to finally feel her in his arms again really felt comforting.

"Hmm...What do you want to know?" She asked as she snaked her arms about his shoulders.

"Anything..."

"I'm worried, Toushirou..." She said, burying her face against his chest.

"About what?"

"About...Us...About whether I'll be a good enough wife for you..."

He pulled back and gazed down at her in puzzlement. She looked down so he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face towards his. "What's with that? I thought you said you were a living anti-stereotype of girls?" He gave a small grin but she didn't smile back.

"Be serious." She protested. "What do I do?"

He lifted a hand up and pushed her hair back from her face. "You need to relax, Karin. You said yourself that you don't like pettiness. This is petty, okay? Stop being petty."

She frowned up at him. "Do you necessarily have to tell me everything I said back then?"

He shrugged. "The things you said had a profound impact."

She grinned a little. "A profound impact, huh?"

"Yeah...That was when we first met. I remember the things you said because I had thought I had found someone to sympathise with." He shrugged again.

She smiled and leant her head against his shoulder again. "...You'll be a good king, Toushirou..."

"And you're going to be a great Queen, Karin."  
She lifted her head up and gazed at him with an unreadable expression.

"What?" He asked.

"I dunno...Just feels weird to be called that..." She said.

"Don't worry about it; you'll get used to it." He bent down a little and pressed his lips to hers. "I love you, Karin." He muttered.

"I love you too, Shirou-kun..." She said as she held tightly onto him.


	17. Urahara

During the next week, Ichigo and Rukia visited a priest and renewed their marriage vows. Karin understood why they did it but Yuzu didn't, so she was told some soppy story about the husband and wife wanting to be "bound by love and friendship anew" to celebrate how much they loved one another. Yuzu was crying heartily by the time Karin finished her made-up story. So, in essence, Ichigo and Rukia got married again but there was just an absence of a proper ceremony so when they went back home, Ichigo had the servants prepare a special feast. Orihime didn't know what was going on but she went along with it, although somewhat disheartened when she saw Ichigo kissing his wife. She then told herself off for being like that so she paid Ichigo no mind and instead chatted to Yuzu and Karin and enjoyed the food.

Ichigo and Rukia came downstairs in suspiciously good moods the next morning and Karin and Yuzu had the misfortunes to intrude upon the two of them being rather...intimate throughout the whole day. Karin went to take a walk after the fifth time that she found them embracing in the drawing room. She was so fed up! Couldn't they save the kissing for the bedroom, away from the eyes of normal human beings?

But she couldn't deny that she was happy for Ichigo. The customary frown that he had worn since he was snapped out of the spirit's control had vanished and he smiled a lot more. Rukia had given him that so Karin wholeheartedly liked the woman, and besides, they both shared a common hobby; making fun of Ichigo. Rukia told her numerous stories of their time during their studies and Ichigo was always portrayed the idiot.

She took a different route this time, an out-of-the-way track that led her past a deserted road that didn't really lead anywhere. She suspected some changes to this place, like increased growth of foliage, since the last time she'd come down this way. But what she found was a plain-looking shop. She furrowed an eyebrow as she spotted it but then walked on. What business of hers was it if someone chose to set up shop along a deserted road?

She was walking directly past it when she chanced to turn her head and read the sign.

**URAHARA SHOTEN**

She continued to walk along and then abruptly stopped as the name finally clicked. _Urahara?!_ She thought in surprise.

After a second's hesitation, she turned on her heel and walked towards the entrance. She pushed the door open and went inside. She frowned as she saw the contents of all the shelves. _C-Candy?_ She thought in puzzlement. There was no sound that could be heard so she walked in further. Nothing stirred. The utter absence of sound was somewhat unsettling but she went further anyway, looking around as she went.

"Good afternoon..."

Karin whipped around at the sound of the greeting. It was low, almost a whisper, but definitely there. But where had it so suddenly come from?

"Over here, Kurosaki-chan..."

Karin looked around again and finally found a man in a green and white striped bucket hat and traditional sandals standing next to the entrance. Had he always been there? But she'd walked right past there! Then he must have moved there after she'd gone by, but she hadn't heard the slightest sound! She could make out tufts of blond hair sticking out from underneath the bucket hat. He looked up as she turned around and she immediately froze. "U-U-Ura...hara-san?" She stammered.

He suddenly adopted a cheery expression and began waving about the fan that he held in one hand. "Long time no see, Kurosaki-chan!"

"W-What're you doing...here?" She asked haltingly.

He lost the cheery expression and suddenly became grim. "I heard about your father's death, I'm sorry. Isshin was a good friend."

She regarded him calmly for a few seconds. "Hmm..."

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" He asked, resuming his previous cheeriness.

"I...Saw the sign...and I just wanted to know if it really was you." She answered truthfully. "What're you doing here? It's been ages! You suddenly disappeared after Ichi-Nii left." She looked to him meaningfully.

He continued to wear the grin and answered, "Well, business demands us to move around a lot."

"Business?" She asked, looking sceptically at the candy-lined shelves.

"This is merely one of the many things I do." He said cheerfully. "My...other skills and jobs demand that I move around a lot."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Other skills and jobs? What'd they be then?"

"Oh, nothing of concern to one such as yourself." He said dismissively.

"Hmm...You mentioned 'us', who's 'us'?" She asked.

"My, my, so many questions...You'll find out, if fate so warrants it." He said mysteriously.

Karin wasn't usually one for prying so she left it at that. She made some excuse to leave, having become rather uncomfortable, and rushed out.

_Urahara...what's he up to?_ She thought as she walked away.

Urahara used to have two jobs (as far as she could remember). He used to teach at a nearby dojo and he worked in the local cemetery. He was the one who taught Ichigo to fight since Ichigo had been four and he had continued to tutor him through to when her brother reached the age of sixteen (he'd stopped there because Ichigo had gone off to study) and then he'd mysteriously disappeared. Isshin had supposed that because the blond-haired man had seen Ichigo as such a promising pupil, he'd paid him extra attention and even given him private lessons, and plus, Isshin and Urahara had been good friends from before; a plus point when looking to get Ichigo enrolled in a dojo. But that wasn't to say that Karin knew him well. That was just about all she knew of the man. She also knew that he always knew more than he let on and he only offered his opinion when necessary.

There had been a situation once when Ichigo had gotten into a fight with a fellow student. Karin had gone with her brother that time, to see him in action. Urahara hadn't intervened at all; instead, he'd stood by as Ichigo beat the other guy up. Ichigo had been angry and surprisingly, the other boy had won at the end of it. Apparently, it had been a test to see if Ichigo could keep his cool while being aggravated. Ichigo had then been lectured about not letting himself be riled up so easily. Urahara had told the then-young Ichigo that if he stepped into a fight while angry, he'd be more liable to make mistakes. That was one lesson from the man that Ichigo had completely ignored, for the most part.

_But what's that dude doin here, now, after all this time? And why the hell has he set up a sweet shop in the middle of a deserted road?_ She thought as she walked back home. She wondered if she should mention this to Ichigo or not. The blond-haired man and the orange-haired boy had had a pretty close student/teacher relationship. The two of them would never admit it, but they had almost been like father and son (albeit a strange father and son).

But this was none of her business anyway. She didn't know anything about Urahara so she couldn't say anything about his sudden return. And besides, he could have been here for ages. She'd not been down this path for months; he could have come back long ago and only set up shop some time after her father died, or even before that.

She sighed as she walked along. Because Urahara had been a trusty (but somewhat shady) friend of the Kurosaki family, she wanted to invite him to the wedding but it was too late. All the preparations were already under way, or about to be finished off for the actual ceremony next week.

* * *

Three days until the wedding.

Everyone in the Kurosaki household was preparing for the ceremony and it was finally beginning to show. Rukia and Yuzu had gone to town to get last minute accessories and see if they could find better dresses and whatnot. Karin had refused to go and had, instead, told Orihime to go with them. Orihime had protested but Karin had insisted, saying that she wanted Orihime to be at the wedding as a guest, not a maid. So Orihime had reluctantly gone with the two of them. Karin called out to her as the three women left. "Hey, Orihime, maybe you'll be Ishida-kun!" She laughed as she saw Orihime's face turning deep red, even across the distance.

Surprisingly, a while later, the royal carriage pulled up outside their home, along with four individual horses for the guards. Chikako Hitsugaya, along with her guards (who were holding onto a rather large box), went to the door. The servant who had opened the door seemed to freeze on the spot and then bowed deeply and then stood aside to let her enter, bowing to the guards also. The servant led them to the drawing door and said that he'd immediately call Karin-san and explained that the mistress was out to town and the master was at work. Chikako told her guards to wait outside the room after they put the box down on one of the sofas.

The servant called Karin down, who was in her bedroom. Karin was surprised and immediately went downstairs, telling the servant to prepare some tea or _something_.

"Ah, Karin-chan!" Chikako said warmly as Karin stepped into the room.

"Hitsugaya-sama!" Karin exclaimed happily (well, she _had_ to be happy).

"It is 'mother' now, Karin-chan." Chikako admonished good-naturedly.

"Sumimasen, Okaa-sama." Karin replied, bowing down low.

"It is quite alright, my dear, you shall get used to it." Chikako said.

Karin sat down and waited uncomfortably. What was the Queen here for? And at such a convenient time too, when nobody else was around!

"Where is your maid, Karin-chan?" Chikako asked.

"Oh, I sent Orihime to town." Karin replied.

"Alone?" Chikako asked with a slight frown.

"No, my sister Yuzu and my sister-in-law were going so I thought maybe Orihime should accompany them too."

"I see."

There was a sudden knocking at the door and Karin got up to answer it. Two servants stood holding a big tray with two cups, a teapot, and some foodstuffs. "Thank you." Karin took the tray from them and smiled politely. They bowed and left, closing the door for Karin. She turned around and set the tray on the table before the sofas. She poured tea in one cup for the Queen and then in the other. She asked the Queen, politely, how much sugar she'd like. Chikako replied that one spoon would suffice.

"Thank you, Karin-chan." The Queen smiled as she took the cup and saucer that Karin held out to her. Karin took her own and went back to her seat. "So, how are you faring?" She asked in regard to the looming wedding.

"Quite nervous." Karin said with a small smile. It was true enough.

"Do not worry, my dear." Chikako said sympathetically. "It may seem rather daunting but it shall be quite a simple affair."

"Hai, Okaa-sama." Karin brought her cup to her lips and took a small sip. She wanted to ask about Hitsugaya, but she didn't know how to ask without sounding "disrespectful". "Um...How is...How is...?" She trailed off, unable to articulate what she meant without sounding too formal or too informal.

Chikako raised one white eyebrow and then smiled. "You want to ask about Toushirou?" She asked.

Karin flushed and nodded.

"He is well. In all honesty, he has a somewhat faraway quality about him as of late and one has to call him twice in order to get his attention. It seems you have made quite an impact on him, Karin-chan." The Queen continued to smile as she drank her tea. Karin's flush deepened and she bowed her head. Chikako's smile got a little wider.

They sat in silence for a while, sipping at the tea. Usually, when Karin drank tea, she downed it in three or four big gulps but she had to be _demure_ here, and she didn't like it very much.

"Oh, I got your measurements from last week and I had the dress made, and I would like to say, what an excellent choice. Toushirou seems to think it would suit you just fine!" Chikako suddenly said, putting down the cup and saucer. She stood up and went over to the big box that she'd brought and pulled the lid off. She beckoned for Karin to come and have a look. Karin did so.

Laying in the box, she found the midnight blue dress that she had chosen. "Wow..." She muttered. She was going to wear that? But it looked so much more...extravagant than it had in the book. "Um...Arigato...Arigato Gozaimasu." She said respectfully, bowing down low to the Queen to show her gratitude.

"It is absolutely fine, my dear." Chikako smiled and pulled the dress out. "Would you try it on? If there are any adjustments that need to be made, we still have a little bit of time." She held the garment out to the girl.

Karin hesitantly took it. "H-Hai," She said. She then exited the room as Chikako sat down once more.

Karin came back a while later, looking fairly self-conscious. She was flushing deeply and kept fiddling with the fabric of the dress.

"It looks wonderful, dear!" The Queen exclaimed as she went over to the girl. "Is it okay? Not too constraining, I hope?" She asked.

Karin shook her head.

"Good, if you are sure, you can change back into your other clothes."

"Hai." Karin retreated and went to get changed again.

When she came back, Chikako took the dress and put it carefully back in the box. "Oh, and Toushirou wanted me to give you this." She said suddenly, taking a smaller box out from the side. She held it out to Karin, who took it in puzzlement. _For...me?_ She thought uncertainly. She opened it and couldn't help but smile. Chikako was curious but she didn't say anything. Karin held the box out anyway, so that she could see the white-silver glass slippers.

"Oh, I did not know my son had such a taste in shoes!" She exclaimed.

Karin couldn't help it; she chuckled.

"Ari-Arigato." She mumbled. "Please, tell him that for me."

Chikako's gaze softened considerably and she put a hand on the girl's shoulders. Karin lifted her gaze to meet hers. "Take care of my son, Karin-chan."

"I'll do my best, Okaa-sama." Karin smiled genuinely. What happened next surprised her to an extent; Chikako Hitsugaya hugged her.

"I kept a close eye on you, Karin," She said as she pulled back, still smiling, "And I realised that you were not someone who acts like a "respectable lady"...Toushirou has developed a habit of talking like a commoner, and I know you have tried immensely hard to keep up this facade of being a lady so that you would be approved by Toushirou's father and I, but I noticed that your way of speaking is somewhat...forced. I have figured out that Toushirou's way of talking must be due to you."

Karin stared at the white-haired woman blankly. What was she to do now? What if she suddenly said that the marriage was off? _That's ridiculous!_ She thought, _she wouldn't have come down here just to tell me that I can't marry her son_.

Chikako continued to smile. "But I am not here to take you away from him. You need not put up a facade in front of me anymore...I just want what is best for my son. For the first time in all his life of being a Prince, he has found someone who sees him as a real person and for that _I_ thank you."

She stunned Karin immensely next by bowing. Karin stared, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. "H-Hitsugaya-sama...there's no need to..." She began.

"Hush, child..." Chikako said as she straightened up. "I have given this a lot of thought. I want Toushirou to be happy, and as long as you provide him that happiness, _I_ couldn't be happier."

Karin suddenly felt unexpected and unwanted moisture lining her eyes and she wiped at them. "Okaa-sama..." She said softly. And for the first time since she'd been asked to call the woman such, she said it with the utmost sincerity. "...Thank you..."

* * *

Two days until the wedding.

Karin was anxious ever since Chikako came to give her the dress and shoes. She kept taking the shoes out and looked at them repeatedly. _Toushirou_...

_I'm gettin married!_ She thought unbelievably. _I can't believe I'm gettin married! Before Yuzu_! She had always accepted the fact that she herself either wouldn't get married or she'd get married _long_ after Yuzu did. Yuzu had had many suitors already but Ichigo had nothing short of told them to take a hike. Most of those men were from around the Clinic, where Yuzu occasionally went to help her brother out, and Ichigo wanted them to have nothing to do with his "baby sister" (he sometimes referred to Karin as his "brother", and Yuzu was the "baby sister" of the family). Karin had gone a few times too but she really doubted whether she had any suitors. If a patient didn't stay still, she'd knock them unconscious just so her brother could look them over properly. But even if anyone else had asked for her hand in marriage, she was sure Ichigo had turned them down. He knew what she was like; they were similar in many ways. If Ichigo didn't like the way someone behaved or talked to others, then it was a high probability that Karin wouldn't like that person either. Karin had grown up, for the most part, under her brother's wing; after all, Ichigo had taught her everything she knew about..._everything_. That was where her mannerisms came from, but what was really puzzling was why Yuzu was so soft-hearted and sweet. Their mother had died when the twins were just four years old; not old enough to pick up any definitive traits, so why was Yuzu like the why she was?

_Anyway, who cares about that right now?_ Karin thought as she lay back on the bed. _If Yuzu wasn't around, we'd all be dead and I'm gettin married before Yuzu_!

_What's married life going to be like?_ She wondered.

"_Ano, don't forget, dinner at seven!" An apron-clad Karin called after her husband as he went off to work with a shovel slung over one shoulder. He looked back and blew her a kiss before running off to his workplace._

_That's just wrong_, she thought flatly. _I'm not a housewife and he's not a...digger...person...Whatever_.

She sighed as she stood up, having felt the sudden urge to _move_.

She passed Orihime on the way out of the house.

"Oh, hey Orihime." She said cheerily.

"Good afternoon, Karin-san!" The big-breasted woman was with equal cheer.

"Say, as Ishida dropped by?" Karin asked seriously.

"Karin-san..." Orihime protested vaguely as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"Anyway, you all set for the wedding? I talked to Hitsugaya-sama yesterday and she said it was fine if you came as a guest." Karin said. "And...As part of our side of the guest list, Ishida-kun has been invited as a friend of the family." She grinned suggestively, highly amused as she watched Orihime become even more flustered about the thought of Ishida being at the wedding.

"I do wish you'd stop teasing me." Orihime said sadly.

Karin sighed, "Man, you an Yuzu get upset so easily. Sorry."

"It's ok." Orihime smiled a little. "Two days, how're you feeling?"

"I'm doin okay." Karin smiled back. "Though, Hitsugaya-sama is expecting you to help me with the preparations an stuff, for the big day, gettin dressed an all that."

"Hai, of course, Karin-san!"

* * *

"Ne, Shirou-kun, what shall I do?" Karin asked, sitting behind the cover of her favourite tree, which she had affectionately dubbed "Shirou-kun". She looked up as the gnarled branches and the leaves upon swaying in the gentle breeze. She loved this feeling, of being outside with a cooling breeze wafting by and the sounds of nature all around. If she closed her eyes...she could hear...the life brimming around her...the birds called loudly up in the sky...the crickets chirped...the leaves rustled...the wind picked up its pace and began to howl...footsteps over the grass...

...and she fell asleep...

She had dreams, dreams of what it would be like after the marriage, how she'd be like as Karin Hitsugaya. She was terrified of the prospect. The dreams only dealt with that simple fear and nervousness but it seemed amplified...ominous...somehow...dark...dreadful...

She woke up in her own bed, in the clothes that she'd been wearing before. Ichigo or someone must have carried her back to her bedroom. She pulled the sheets back and stood up. It was dark.

What was this anxiety that she felt? She was just getting married, for god's sake! But...did all women feel like this when they get married?

But then, she was going to get married to the guy that she loved, but also the guy that would rule their country someday _soon_. She was essentially going to be a queen. Not that she'd actually do anything, but Toushirou had said that he needed her and she had said that she was his.

She was excited. But she was also apprehensive. She'd not really had much regard for the upper classes ever since she could remember but now she was going to get married into _royalty_. It was just so unexpected! Never in a million years had she dreamt that she'd be getting married to a Prince. _And such a nice one at that,_ she thought dazedly as she walked out of her bedroom and towards the stairs. She was getting well and truly anxious now. What if she really wasn't suited for palace life? What would she have to do during her days? How would she be expected to behave in Toushirou's presence in the company of others?

_Dammit, anxiety don't suit me well,_ she thought as she tiredly rubbed her face with both hands. Maybe being in his presence would make her feel better; he always made her feel better, and he could easily quell the irrational fear that she felt. She wished she could go to him, but she had two nights and one whole day to wait. _This is killin me!_ She thought.

* * *

One day left until the wedding.

"Karin-chan, are you okay?"

"Hn?" Karin mumbled dazedly.

"Karin-chan?" Yuzu pressed further.

"Hn?"

"KARIN-CHAN!" Yuzu cried out.

"Wha...?!" Karin broke out of her reverie jerkily and looked to her sister. "What?"

"Stop slipping out of reality, you're scaring me." Yuzu said tearfully.

Karin sighed and stood up. She went to ruffle her sister's hair. "Sorry, Yuzu."

"Karin-chan! You're ruining my hair!"

"Sorry, Yuzu." Karin smiled and walked away.

"Ano, Karin-san, have you started preparing for tomorrow yet?" Orihime asked timidly as she suddenly appeared in Karin's path.

"I'm on it, thanks." Karin replied tiredly. "I'm gonna try an get some sleep now; I'm hella tired." She demonstrated by yawning hugely. She'd been up half the night trying to stop worrying.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the palace, Hitsugaya was lounging around in bed. His mother had given him the opportunity to do as he wished because it was going to be a big day tomorrow. He felt somewhat apprehensive; there were going to be so many relatives and noble folk there. He didn't really care what they'd think of Karin but their mere presences at his wedding would be somewhat irritating. All they ever did was talk about "the state of things" and how he was getting on and how he looked forward to the prospect of ruling the nation. He wished they'd all miraculously disappear off the face of the earth, but that wasn't going to happen.

After another half an hour of trying to get to sleep, and failing miserably, he stood up and decided that he'd go and see his father.

"Ah, Toushirou!" Kaito Hitsugaya said cheerily as his son opened the door. He was trying to be more active and positive these days, for the sake of his wife and child. He didn't have long to live but he was making the most of it.

Hitsugaya bowed low as he approached the bed and then sat down on the chair. "How are you feeling, Otou-sama?" He asked concernedly.

"I'm feeling ok, thanks son!" The King said. "And how are _you_ feeling? It's the big day tomorrow!"

Hitsugaya smiled. How could he not? His father was trying utmost to be cheerful when he knew he was going to pass on soon, and he himself was down about getting married! "Hai, I'm feeling somewhat...anxious..." He said.

The King raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It's completely natural, my boy!" He leant in conspiratorially and said in a low voice, "Just between you and me, I was terrified when I got married to your mom." And he broke out into a wide grin. "Hoo_wee_! Was I scared! I had never been so afraid before! The first thing she said to me after we got home was "you are not a child so therefore, do not act like one. I am expected to be the wife of a King, not an immature commoner." I tell you, that woman frightens me even today."

This elicited a small smile from his son.

"But...you're lucky, son, this girl really seems to care for you, from what I hear. It's a great thing."

"Hai, Otou-sama. Arigato." Hitsugaya mumbled.

"Don't worry about it."

Talking to his father calmed Hitsugaya down, a little. He left soon after and went back to his room.

To think that tomorrow night, she'd be sleeping here, in his room...with him. He felt a hotness creeping up his cheeks at the thought.


	18. The Wedding

Hey, peeps! I have news! For lovers of romance/action but with more action than romance, I _might_ be writing a Part II for this story :D

It's going to be set three years after they get married but a sudden war is on their hands. Some months pass and recruitment for able-bodied men across the land begins and Karin, being who she is, out of extreme worry about the welfare of her brother (who has joined the ranks of the soldiers) and her King, she dresses as a boy and goes to a recruitment office. Will she make it to the Front Line?

Anywho, that's the summary. It's going to be as gory as possible :D and there's probably gonna be (or, at least, I'll try to make it) in-depth about life in the trenches (using characters from Bleach, of course, otherwise, it wouldn't really be a fanfic ). We're doin war poetry in English Literature and we had to study how soldiers' lives were in the trenches in the First World War and I found it immensely fascinating so I wanted to do a story on it. Though, I'm still thinkin about it. Lemme know what you guys think. Oh, and I know it don't sound like it, but there _will_ be romance in it :D

Just one more chapter to go.

* * *

The big day.

The royal carriages arrived to take the Kurosakis to the palace, but they had to wait awhile because the Kurosaki household was in utter chaos.

"Karin-chan, how long...?!"

"Oi, hurry up!"

"Shut up, you're not even read..."

"Everybody please calm down!"

"Karin-san, you still have to have your hair fixed...!"

"Dammit! Hurry up!"

"Shut up, Ichigo! You're not the bride!"

"You shut up, ya midget!"

"I'm going to kill you, bastard..."

"Ano, please don't fight!"

"HELLO! MY WEDDIN, MY RULES!" Karin finally yelled. The hubbub finally died down and everyone looked to her expectantly. Ichigo and Rukia let go of one another's throats and stepped back. "Now, y'all shut the fuck up and finish up and get out there." Karin growled dangerously.

Yuzu and Orihime visibly gulped in nervousness. "H-Hai." They stuttered in unison.

"OK, if that's all sorted, then finish up, quick time!" The dark-haired girl said authoritatively.

"Who died and made you boss?" Ichigo grumbled. He was nudged painfully in the ribs by his wife.

"Shut up, Ichigo, it's her wedding." The petite woman said matter-of-factly.

"Whatever."

They were ready some fifteen minutes later and emerged out of the house. Yuzu, Orihime and Rukia noted that Karin was a little shaky so they continued to tell her that she looked great. Yuzu, Rukia and Ichigo travelled in one carriage while Karin and Orihime frequented the second one.

Hinamori was nowhere to be seen. Karin didn't even know if the dark-haired girl even existed anymore or not. Rukia had gone up to talk to her the day before, but she'd been shut out of the room. Hinamori had yelled that she didn't want to go to the wedding.

Karin sighed as she sat down in the carriage. She was still apprehensive.

"Don't worry so much, Karin-san." Orihime smiled as they set off.

"Who says I'm w-w-worried?" Karin asked, feigning calm but failing.

Orihime sighed. "Relax. Take this time to think of positive things. This will work out just fine."

Karin sighed. "You're right, but I can't help it. There's gonna be so many people there!"

Orihime smiled reassuringly. "Just be confident. Nobody can say anything to you if they have no weak points to exploit."  
"That's the way of nobles though, right?" Karin grinned.

"Not all nobles are like that." The maid said. "I've seen some of the friends that Hitsugaya-sama has that aren't _that_ stuck-up."

"Nobles suck." Karin said sourly.

* * *

Hitsugaya emerged into the chapel/hall (the hall had been set with a special chapel in the centre, for convenience purposes; the chapel in the palace was practically on the other side of the establishment) with trepidation. He wasn't smiling; he wore his customary frown, which was now bordering on a snarl. His mother urged him on and he reluctantly went in, and she followed him as she pushed her husband before her in a wheelchair. Kaito Hitsugaya wished his son good luck. The family was greeted by loud cheers as the guests (including their relatives from across the country, who had arrived last night or this morning, and the nobles who were familiar with the court) stood up and bowed to them. The three of them all inclined their heads in response. Hitsugaya stiffly went over to the altar, where the priest stood. The priest bowed as the boy approached. Hitsugaya nodded in greeting. He was dressed in an immaculate suit of dark blue, with a silvery-white shirt and dark blue bow tie. His mother had said that his wedding was going to have a blue theme and he'd conceded because he really didn't care much for themes. His outfit had originally been planned to be a softer blue, but because Chikako had wanted his outfit to match Karin's, his outfit had been changed (instantaneously, after Karin's choice had been revealed).

_How long is that girl going to take?_ He wondered impatiently. He wanted this over and done with _as soon as possible_.

There was a general wave of noise from outside a few minutes later and everybody turned their attention to the entrance. Chikako went to investigate and Kaito looked on with interest. It seemed the bride had arrived.

Chikako came back and went to wait by her husband again, beaming. Hitsugaya impatiently looked to the entrance. _Come on, Karin, how long does it take to walk through the bloody door_?

When she did walk in, all thoughts of impatience faded and he stared. She had a veil over her face and she was being led down the aisle by her brother, whose bright orange hair looked somewhat out of place with his black tuxedo. Three women (Orihime, Rukia and Yuzu) in identical dresses walked steadily behind the two Kurosaki siblings.

Karin looked splendid in her dark dress. He could make out stray strands of long black hair falling against her garment, breaking away from the cover of the veil. He could see her features vaguely beneath the dark veil and she was smiling shakily. The glitter upon the skirt of her dress sparkled as she walked in a patch of sunlight that streamed in through one of the high windows. The effect was quite breathtaking.

Her hand upon her brother's arm tightened minutely as they walked towards the altar. She was trying not to concentrate on all the people who were looking at her. Instead, she fixed her gaze upon the groom. That got rid of any anxiety she felt at the moment. He looked handsome in that suit, and his outfit even corresponded with hers! _Toushirou-kun, you look amazing_...She thought dazedly.

Ichigo and Karin paused before the groom's parents and bowed. Chikako Hitsugaya smiled and greeted her and Kaito gave a cheeky grin. Karin couldn't help but realise that, even though he looked ill, he was still cheery. He radiated an aura of happiness. They motioned for her to go onto the altar and she did so. Rukia, Orihime and Yuzu followed her, after bowing to the King and Queen, and stood behind her.

"Say, where's your best man?" She asked quietly as she stood beside Hitsugaya. She looked around in puzzlement.

"Lazy baka's not here yet." Hitsugaya muttered sourly.

"I thought the best man was supposed to accompany the groom?" She said.

He shrugged minutely.

"I'm here." A somewhat familiar voice announced beside the Prince.

Karin stared a little and turned her gaze on the blond-haired man who stood beside her groom. "_You?!_" She muttered in a strained voice. She narrowed her eyes questioningly.

"Hello, Kurosaki-chan." Urahara said cheerily.

"You two know one another?" Hitsugaya asked in surprise.

"Yeah, he used to be a friend of my father's and Ichi-Nii's old sensei." She replied. She looked over to Ichigo, to see that his gaze was narrowed in question too. "What're you doing here?" She asked, turning back to the jovial man.

"I had more than one pupil, you know." Urahara said jovially.

"He's your teacher?" She asked Hitsugaya incredulously. He nodded.

"I didn't know who else to ask to be the "best man" cuz I'm not really that friendly with anyone. Urahara here's been teaching me combats of all sorts ever since four years ago, after my old sensei got fired, so I thought I might as well ask him to take the role." He shrugged minutely. "Can we discuss this later? We have a wedding to be getting on with." He was right. The people in the hall were getting rather restless with the conversation between the bride and groom. "You can begin." Hitsugaya said to the priest.

"Hai, Ojii-sama." The priest bowed and opened his book and began to read out the vows.

Some minutes later, Hitsugaya lifted Karin's veil up and, after taking a moment to observe the changes in her features (she was wearing makeup), he kissed her softly. He pulled back and smiled at her and she smiled back. Yuzu was crying soft tears behind her sister and Karin rolled her eyes. _Trust Yuzu to be so sentimental_. She thought.

The "party" started after that. Everyone flocked to the middle of the hall and cleared a huge circle between the bodies for the young couple to dance.

"What...?" Karin whispered hoarsely. "I don't wanna dance..."

Hitsugaya smiled and took her hand. "Neither do I, but they expect to see something otherwise they'll be disappointed." He led her over to the centre of the circle of people as soft music started to flow from somewhere. She hesitantly placed a hand upon his shoulder while the other one remained in his grasp. He wrapped an arm about her waist and they danced. Karin's heart was thundering madly within her chest. She didn't like to dance! She didn't want to dance! He smiled down at her as he led her through the moves and leant his forehead against hers.

"You're not nervous, are you?" He asked softly.

"A little bit." She admitted.

"Don't be. Just keep your eyes on me."

"Like they can go anywhere else." She said quietly.

His smile went just a little wider and he sighed. "I missed you." He whispered.

"I missed you too."

"You look beautiful."

She flushed. "Thanks. You look handsome."

"Thank you." He smiled.

Everyone in the hall let them dance on their own for a while, until Ichigo stepped up to Rukia and held his hand out. Rukia smiled and took it and he led her towards the young couple and they also began to dance.

Karin chanced a look at Orihime and grinned when she saw Ishida making his way over to her. Orihime flushed bright red after he asked her something and held his hand out and she immediately stepped up to him and took it. Chikako saw this and raised an eyebrow high but grinned all the same.

Pretty soon, the whole hall filled up with dancing people and Hitsugaya and Karin called it quits and went to sit at the stage.

* * *

The spirit within Rukia stirred a little as Rukia danced with her husband. She looked out into the hall and saw Karin and Hitsugaya sitting together and seethed.

_Karin Kurosaki...I'll kill you...And then, I'll get that which I deserve_...She hissed to herself.

But she knew that she couldn't just attack in front of everyone like this; she would be discovered and apprehended, even if the body that she wanted to inhabit was far stronger now. She could feel the Spiritual Energy inside her, itching to release, to be wielded, but she had to be patient, she had to choose her moment carefully, and that moment would come before the ceremony ended. She wasn't going to leave here empty-handed, not on such a day.

* * *

"So, are you going to tell me why you left all those years ago?" Karin demanded.

Urahara had had the misfortune of going up to his pupil and his ex-pupil's sister. Karin had taken to interrogating him. "I did say it didn't concern you, Kurosaki-chan." He said, trying to maintain his cheerfulness.

"Quit with the bull!" She hissed. "You said business caused you to move around a lot. Why d'ya lie?"

"I did not lie." He said coolly. "Business did demand that I move and I rarely came to that part of town ever again. Hitsugaya-san here got a hold of my name from somewhere and I was asked if I'd be interested in taking him as my next pupil. But it wasn't a full-time job; I did travel. I had to, like I said; business." He shrugged.

"Whatever." She said. She turned her attention to Hitsugaya. "So, why didn't you tell me you trained?"

He shrugged. "You never asked."

"So, you're just gonna tell me things when I ask you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I can't read your mind, can I?" He said dryly. "You have to actually tell me what you want to know in order for me to tell you."

"...Geez..." She muttered resignedly. _It's no use arguing with this guy_. "Whatever."

Urahara wandered off and left them to their discussion. He was soon confronted by Ichigo and he had to explain all over again what he'd told Karin.

Matsumoto then came up to the two of them. "Hi!" She said cheerily, bosom bouncing up and down as she abruptly stopped her flight.

"Matsumoto-san!" Karin cried cheerily. "Long time no see!"

"I know! How have you been?"

"Good, thanks! How about you?"

"The same, thanks!"

_Do they have to talk so loudly_? Hitsugaya thought irritably, eyebrows quivering in annoyance.

"Oh, congratulations! I'm so happy for the two of you!" Matsumoto said.

"Thank you." Karin smiled.

Many other well-wishers from among the guests came to congratulate the two. Many of Hitsugaya's cousins and other relatives asked questions. Karin got a little uncomfortable, to say the least. All these people were way higher up than normal people. She didn't like them; they spoke so "posh" and "proper" and she made a blunder in her "forced style of speech" and used colloquial terms a few times. They had frowned at that, and had then chose to ignore it and then left her and Hitsugaya alone.

"Shirou-kun, what do I do?" She sighed as someone else left the two of them to go and converse with others.

"Don't worry about it." He said softly, patting her hand. "I'm going through the same thing."

"That's cheers me up a bit." She grinned.

A vein throbbed in his forehead and he removed his hand. "Sorry," she mirthfully, grasping his hand again, "I'm sorry." She laughed.

"You don't sound it." He grumbled but didn't shake her off. He had the sudden urge to pull her towards him and kiss her, but he didn't.

After a couple hours, the hall began emptying as the "party" slowly ground to a halt. Dinner was done and servants would be called in a while to take care of the mess. The well-wishers bid the newlyweds good fortune and left. Pretty soon, there were only the Kurosaki and Hitsugaya families left, as well as Ishida, Orihime. They were all going to go into the palace now, to have some tea and the like and have a sort of private gathering of their own. Yuzu had taken to pushing the King's wheelchair, having found a companion to talk to, and the Queen was walking beside her, somewhat amused as the two continued to chat. They soon reached the doors that lead into the palace itself and walked through while everyone else continued behind them at a much more leisurely pace.

_Now..._

Rukia grinned suddenly, and it was a rather malicious grin. Ichigo's arm was wound about her waist but he wasn't looking at her. She broke free of his grasp and stalked meaningfully over to Karin and Hitsugaya, who were walking some ways ahead, hand in hand. Ichigo gazed after her in confusion but didn't see any harm in her going to his sister so he continued talking to Ishida about business and such. Orihime had been walking beside Ishida but when Rukia left, she grew uncomfortable so she followed the petite woman. She noticed that Rukia's posture was somewhat...rigid.

"Rukia-san!" She called when she was a merely five feet or so away.

Rukia glanced back and the look that she had in her eye tremendously scared the orange-haired woman. "_What do you want, maid_?" She asked in a low rumble.

Orihime knew then that something was not right.

Because Rukia was quite close to Karin at that moment, the bride perchance heard her and turned around. Orihime was standing some ways back, looking scared. Rukia was looking at Karin's back with a malicious gleam in her eyes. _Whoa_, Karin thought, alarmed and she stopped immediately. Hitsugaya felt her stop and turned around too.

"Ichi-Nii!" Karin called out warningly, she let go of Hitsugaya's hand and faced the threat.

Ichigo had, by this time, noticed that the three women were standing still. Rukia was looking at Karin, her posture rigid. "R-Rukia?"

"..._Rukia's not here_..." Rukia said as a grin spread out across her face.

"Oi, Kurosaki, what's going on?" Ishida asked in confusion.

"I'll explain later. My...wife's not in her right...state of mind." Ichigo replied vaguely before walking slowly towards the petite woman.

What happened next alarmed Orihime and Ishida greatly. Rukia whipped around to face her husband and held her hand up and a pulsing ball of energy appeared in it. It was fairly big. Ichigo paused in alarm. "_Do not take a step closer_," Rukia said venomously, "_Or someone is going to die."_

There was no warning as Karin kicked off the glass slippers that she wore and charged the woman. Ever since Rukia had turned back to normal, Karin had had a sense of foreboding in her gut but that had been quelled when she saw how natural she was behaving with Ichigo. That sort of affection just wasn't something that could be acted out, no matter how cunning you were. "I'll teach you to mess with my family...!" She growled.

Rukia turned to face her again and the grin didn't leave her face. "_This time, Karin Kurosaki, you shall find that you cannot stop me_." She said in a low voice. She thrust her hand out and the ball of energy went hurtling straight at the bride. Karin easily dodged it, but it seemed that Rukia could control it because she did a swerving motion with her fingers and the ball turned in midair and came at Karin again. But Karin didn't see it. Hitsugaya did, and he immediately dived; his arms thrust out and caught his new wife about the waist, dragging her down with him just as the ball whipped by. It went rushing for Rukia so she dispelled it effortlessly.

"Phew, thanks, Toushirou." Karin said as she stood up. She offered Hitsugaya a small smile as he stood up too but then faced Rukia again. "But stay back though; this is _my_ fight."

"No chance!" He scoffed. He made to walk up to stand before her, but she held her arm out.  
"Try to understand, Toushirou," she said seriously, staring straight at Rukia, who was looking back at her with equal venom, "This is my fight. This...Spirit wants your position...and she's going to do whatever she can to hurt my family in the process. I have double reason to fight." She finally looked to him and her expression was serious, more serious than he had _ever_ seen it.

"_Baka na! I shall teach you to take your eyes of your opponent, Kurosaki!_" Rukia said. She held a hand up and, this time, lightning flew out of her fingertips.

"DUCK!" Karin cried as she jumped on Hitsugaya.

"Ow..." The Prince muttered as his head struck the ground hard. He was seeing stars.

"I'm sorry, but you stay there." Karin said. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek before jumping up again. "Is that all you got, witch?" She called to Rukia.

Rukia sneered. "_I merely enjoy watching you trying to survive, child._" She held her hand up again, but before she could call on her strange power, Karin charged her and knocked her off her feet. Rukia fell to the ground with a small gasp. Karin lifted her leg up and swung it at Rukia's head. But it didn't connect.

"Ichigo?!" Karin asked in surprise.

Her brother stood before Rukia, Karin's foot in his hand. "Don't hurt her, Karin." He said softly.

Karin stared at him with an unreadable expression. She then took her foot away and lowered it onto the ground. She understood what he was saying; his wife was still in there somewhere. He didn't want her to be hurt. "Sorry, Ichi-Nii." She said softly. "But what else can we do? We haven't got long before someone comes in here to check out why we're takin so long. We have to finish this."

"I know." He said. "But don't hurt..." He immediately trailed off and fell to the ground with a heavy thump. Rukia removed her hand from his head.

"ICHI-NII!" Karin cried. At the same time, Ishida yelled "Kurosaki!" And then he began to run towards his rival. Rukia rose up and smirked and flung an arm out towards Ishida, sending him tumbling towards a wall. Ishida fell, unconscious.

"BITCH!" Karin yelled.

"_And now it's your turn_." Rukia said savagely. "_You people bore me to no end! You had the nerve to treat me like a prisoner! IT IS TIME FOR MY PAYBACK!_" And with that, she muttered some words and held her hands up and aimed them at Karin. Karin had been about to duck whatever attack had been aimed at her but what happened next surprised her to no end. She suddenly felt her arms being bound behind her by some invisible restraint and try as she might to break free of it, her arms wouldn't budge. In her effort to free herself, she stumbled and fell to her knees.

"KARIN!" Hitsugaya cried, making to run towards her.

"_Hold it right there_!" Rukia spat. Her hand went up again and Hitsugaya paused abruptly, _not_ of his own accord. "_Now, be a good little boy and do not move_." Rukia ordered. She slowly walked towards him and Hitsugaya grit his teeth firmly, trying to be as defiant as possible.

"B-Bitch! Toushirou, move! Now!" Karin cried from her position, not understanding that he _couldn't_ move. She strained against the invisible restraints once more, to no avail.

Rukia stopped about seven feet before Hitsugaya and he scowled, fighting against the body-lock that she had him in.

"_Oh, there is no need to be so rebellious, Ojii-sama_." She said mockingly. "_My methods do not require violence_." She outstretched her arms to either side of her and tipped her head back and an eerie screech erupted out of her throat. "_I shall take your essence...so that I shall have your power...Power that I deserve.._." She said in a low whisper. Immediately, she cast...something silvery/white out of herself and at the boy. It looked...ectoplasm-y, ethereal, in the vague shape of a female. Hitsugaya was rooted to the spot. All this display of magic was...unsettling. He watched on as the silvery substance came hurtling at him. What could he do? He didn't even know what that was! From somewhere to the side, he heard Karin growl.

Karin staggered to her feet and put all her strength, all her desperation into freeing herself from her ties. She felt something give but she didn't question it; she had to save Hitsugaya! She rushed at Rukia, suddenly free, and catapulted into her feet first, knocking her off-course. Rukia cried out and the silver spirit thing changed course just as it was about to hit Hitsugaya and came rushing at Karin instead. Karin backed off, not knowing what else to do.

"Kill!" Rukia screeched. "Kill Kurosaki!"

Karin gulped. She saw Hitsugaya straining against his binds. "Don't try anything, Toushirou! This is my problem; I'll get out of it!" It came out harsher than she intended and his expression stopped becoming strained and he looked to her in confusion.

"Baka, there's no way I'll let you get killed!" He snarled and began straining again.

"There's nothing you can do, Toushirou!" She cried. "Stay away...Stay _safe_..."

The spirit thing reached her and sort of went through her. She felt a chilling coldness biting at _every_ inch of her skin and she shivered, unable to do anything else. It went through her again and this time it felt as if knives were piercing every part of her body and she very nearly screamed in agony but bit her lip hard. Blood welled inside her mouth and leaked out as she panted for breath. It was exhausting holding her cries of anguish back. It was just an illusion, but with real pain. It came again...and again...and again. She finally let up and screamed.

Hitsugaya could feel his heart reacting to her pain. He strained against the restraints as hard as he could and, somehow, he managed to free himself. It must have been because Rukia's attention was wholeheartedly set on Karin so therefore, her power over him had lessened. He rushed over to Karin, who was panting heavily. She looked up at him as he took her in his arms, just as the spirit thing washed over her again. "ARGH!" She cried out before biting down on her already-bloodied lips. "K-Karin?" He stuttered, shaking her a little. "Karin!" Her gaze went vacant and she writhed in agony again. "KARIN!"

"_It is no use!_" Rukia said gleefully behind him. "_She feels the pain, on _my_ command. The pain is too great!_" She laughed as she said this.

Hitsugaya growled and turned about to face her. "Stop this immediately." He said icily.

"_And what if I choose not to?_" She challenged.

"Tou...Shirou..." Karin said weakly between breaths. He turned his attention back to her immediately and realised that her gaze was just a teeny little bit animated and was concentrated on some other point in the hall. He looked to where she was looking and froze but then turned it back to her as she writhed in pain again. Her gaze went empty once more and she fell out of his arms and onto the floor.

"KARIN!" He cried as he fell to her side and took her in his arms again. "KARIN! Come on! Get up...get...up..." He shook her a little.

"_She's dead_." Rukia said triumphantly. She called the spirit thing back and it vanished. "_Now, Prince, it's your turn..._"

* * *

Final chapter will be up on Wednesday, I've already finished writin it but I'm gonna be cruel and make you guys wait -evil grin-

Anywho, bear in mind that I said before that this society is in a nowhere time and place with nowhere (or everywhere) norms and a nowhere (or anywhere) technological advancement. In Part II, they're going to be engaging in trench warfare so the machine-gun would already have been in existance here.


	19. Unresolved Mysteries

Last chappy folks! I'll try to get a chapter up for Part II soon so stay on _alert_ :D

When Karin came to, she was in bed with a white sheet wrapped securely about her. She sat up with a little difficulty. It was dimly lit in the room with the only source of light being the moonlight outside. She lifted her covers up and found that she was no longer in her wedding dress but in a plain, simple yutaka. There was a book resting by her pillow and a chair next to her bed.

She became a little restless so she got out of bed and went over to the window and looked out. It was dark outside; she couldn't make much out from the thin crescent of the moon. But judging by the silhouettes of the surrounding buildings, she knew she was in the Kurosaki Clinic. She wondered who had brought her here and how long she'd been out for.

She turned back as the door suddenly opened. Hitsugaya abruptly stopped, with his hand still on the handle, when he realised that the bed sheets were pulled back and the occupant was standing by the window. His eyes widened and, involuntarily, his jaw hung open a little. Karin noted that he wasn't dressed in any grand attire but a simple kimono with traditional sandals. That, along with the fact that he had brought a book along, suggested that he'd been here for quite some time.

"What? How long you gonna stand there and stare?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Karin!" He exclaimed as he practically ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, almost squeezing the life out of her.

"...Toushirou...I can't...breathe..." She wheezed.

He immediately let go of her and stepped back. "Sorry..." He said sheepishly.

"What's gotten into you?" She asked, turning back around to gaze up to the faraway moon.

"...I've missed you immensely! You've been out for three weeks..." He muttered, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"...Th-Three weeks...?" She said questioningly. She looked back over her shoulder and gazed at him worriedly. She was surprised when she saw tears gathering at his eyes. "Hey, why're you crying?" She muttered as she turned around in his grasp, wiping at his cheeks as the moisture began to overflow.

"So much happened..." He mumbled.

"Like what?" She asked softly.

He looked away and let go of her waist, standing beside her as he also gazed up at the thin crescent in the night sky. "Toushirou...?" Karin tentatively put a hand on his shoulder.

"...Otou-sama...died..." He said haltingly. His voice cracked and his face contorted as he tried hard not to cry.

She stared at him wide-eyed and immediately turned him around and laid his head against her shoulder. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." She whispered, soothingly running her hand through his hair. Tears ran down her cheeks, at having missed being there for him, at the pain that he was going through, at the death of her father-in-law, who had seemed such a nice guy. "I'm sorry..."

Hitsugaya couldn't help it; he cried. His arms circled about her waist tightly and he buried his head in her dark hair. They stayed in that position for a minute or so, crying to their heart's content. When they pulled back, Hitsugaya wiped her tears and then kissed her cheek. They just gazed at one another for a while and then she asked softly, "So, what happened...after I...fainted?" She asked. She was somewhat disgusted that she, Karin Kurosaki...Hitsugaya...had _fainted_.

He paused thoughtfully. "Well..."

_Three Weeks Ago:_

"_Now Prince...it's your turn..._" Rukia turned back to Hitsugaya with a snarl fixed on her face.

"Not so fast." A low voice mumbled from the entrance.

Hitsugaya had seen Urahara standing at the entrance before, but he hadn't known what use the man would be. They were dealing in the forbidden arts here, not to mention someone who wasn't even alive!

Rukia turned around in question and a cane, marked with a skull within a black flame at the end, hit her on the forehead. It went right through her! Hitsugaya stared in muted wonder as it drew out two spirit things. One actually looked like the real Rukia, with short black hair, and she had a chain 

sprouting out of her chest, connecting her to her body, which had now toppled to the ground. The other spirit thing was completely void of any chains and she was dressed in an ancient gown with long tresses of golden hair falling to her waist.

"Way of Binding No.9; Geki." The big man standing beside Urahara said, his fingers out and pointing to the lady with the golden locks.

It had an immediate impact. The woman gasped as sudden red light surrounded her, binding her in a temporary prison. Rukia's soul stared, awestruck. The big man beside Urahara, who wore glasses and had a strange moustache, stepped up and did some complicated hand movements and the red light vanished. There was a shrill cry as the last vestiges of red faded, along with the lady with the golden tresses. Rukia's soul was then told to step back into the body. She did so without question, too freaked out to argue. When she got up, she immediately went over to Ichigo, seeing if he was okay.

"Urahara, what is this?" Hitsugaya asked, staring wide-eyed at the two men. He stood up shakily, picking Karin up too, being careful to be gentle.

"Relax, Hitsugaya-san." The blond-haired man said jovially. "Ururu, Jinta, secure the exit."

Hitsugaya frowned as a dark-haired girl and redheaded boy (who looked roughly about the same age as him) stepped out from behind Urahara and went over to the entrance and stood on either side.

"Who are you people?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Spirit Control!" Urahara said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"S-Spirit control?" Hitsugaya's eyebrow shot up questioningly. "That is ridiculous!"

"Hey, you don't see us mockin _your_ job!" The redheaded boy said irritably.

"I don't even have a job!" Hitsugaya shot back.

"See? Exactly my point! At least we _earn_ our livin. You royals are so _up there_!" Jinta sneered. A vein bulged in Hitsugaya's forehead, which was not helped by Urahara's next comment. "Relax, children!" The blond-haired man stepped over to his previous student. Ichigo was still out cold with his wife sitting next to him, checking him over to see where the injury was and not having any luck. "Tessai!" At his master's call, the big man immediately went over to him and bent down over Ichigo and started muttering something. A golden glow emanated from his palms, into Ichigo. Ichigo soon stirred and sat up. Rukia hugged him tightly and he embraced her back questioningly. Tessai then went over Ishida and patched him up too. Ishida stirred too so Tessai made his way over to Orihime, who had fainted earlier. He shrugged; she fainted from shock, there was not much he could do about that.

"Hey, what about her?" Hitsugaya asked, indicating the girl within his arms.

"I'm sorry, Ojii-sama, we'll do what we can but it won't do much good; she'll wake up in her own time. Her wounds are not physical." Tessai bowed apologetically. He came up to Hitsugaya and held his hands out over Karin's body and muttered some words but Karin failed to stir.

Hitsugaya looked to Urahara for a possibly different answer from the tall man's but Urahara was busy explaining the situation to Ichigo and Ishida, who were demanding some answers. He didn't pay the Prince any attention. "So, who are you guys, really?" The Prince asked, turning back to Tessai.

"Like Tensho said, we take care of errant spirits. We've been doing it for years." Tessai replied seriously.

"I see..." Hitsugaya said, eyes narrowed. Well, they'd certainly taken care of the spirit in Rukia's body well enough.

"You better get out of here now and remember to act natural. The three already gone by will be wondering where you guys are about now, and if I'm right, someone will be coming back." Urahara said, having finished his brief explanation of the events. "You might want to get Inoue-san away from here; her situation will be harder to explain." He pointed to the fainted woman.

"I'll take Inoue-san home." Ishida offered immediately. He went over to the orange-haired woman and picked her up. Ichigo looked like he was about to say something but Rukia nudged him painfully in the ribs, shutting him up as he glared murderously at her.

"And we need to get Karin to the Kurosaki Clinic." Ichigo said after a while, deciding that he should now play the responsible. He went over to his sister and made to take her into his arms but Hitsugaya held onto her tightly.

"If it's all the same, I'd rather take her." The white-haired boy said determinedly.

Ichigo's raised an eyebrow and stepped sure. "Sure."

"Ano...Onii-chan!" Yuzu suddenly said, coming into the hall. "Eh? What happened? WHAT HAPPENED TO KARIN-CHAN?!" She asked in alarm as she went up to Hitsugaya and her sister.

"She fainted. I think she was a little nervous." Hitsugaya said regrettably. He looked around the hall but there was no sign of Ishida, Orihime, Urahara or any of his lackeys. He frowned in puzzlement. "That's why we took so long. We were trying to wake her up."

"Karin-chan..." Yuzu said tearfully.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Yuzu, she'll be absolutely fine." Ichigo said, patting the girl's head.

"That's what happened." Hitsugaya shrugged as he finished going over the brief details of what happened that day.

"Urahara..." Karin said slowly, eyes narrowed. She shifted a little closer to him and closed her eyes. "So, are we actually counted as a married couple yet or not?"

"Yeah." He said with a smile. "Father was happy that he got to see the wedding." He sighed sadly again. Karin turned around and pulled his arms about her waist, leaning heavily on him as she did so.

"Yeah..." She said quietly. She heard him sigh again and he bent down a little and kissed her neck, slowly, and ran his lips up her skin to her cheek and there he stopped. He turned her around to face him and smiled and she smiled back. He lifted a hand up and placed it upon her cheek as he leant in and kissed her on the lips. She saw his green eyes closing in the pale light of the moon and she breathed in deeply and caressed his head. His hands went to rest upon her shoulders and his thumbs rubbed across her flesh, above the garment that she wore, in soothing circles. His kissed her neck again and this time he went down, to her shoulder, his hands moving down slowly, pulling the fabric down with them to leave her shoulders bare for him to touch, to feel, to kiss. She sighed loudly and took his hand and pulled away.

He looked to her in confusion but she began walking backwards, facing him as she pulled him with her and the hazy smile never left her face. They paused at the bed and she climbed onto it, still pulling him by the hand.

* * *

In the morning, Ichigo went to his sister's room first thing upon entering the Clinic, as he had done every day for the last three weeks. He nearly screamed when he opened the door, and then immediately retreated, shutting the door quickly behind himself. Hitsugaya was laying next to Karin, one _bare_ arm draped over her _bare_ shoulders, and one of her _bare_ arms was cradling his waist above the covers. Their garments from the previous night had been discarded in a heap on the floor next to the bed.

_In my Clinic?!_ Ichigo thought furiously as he went to get ready for work. _In _my_ Clinic?! WHY!? Couldn't they wait until they got home?!_ He muttered some profanities as he adorned a white lab coat and went to open the windows and turned the "closed" sign around.

But at least Karin had finally woken up.

* * *

Karin came to and blinked and then rubbed her eyes. She smiled at the sight that greeted her. Hitsugaya was propped up on one elbow and was gazing steadily at her. He smiled back and leant towards her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Yo." He replied back.

They lapsed into silence and stared at one another, recalling the events of the night.

"I'm hungry." She suddenly said.

"Then let's go home." He replied. He sat up and reached out to the floor, where his kimono lay from the night before. He put it on and got out of bed, tying the obi at his waist as he did so.

"Home?" She asked as she also sat up, clutching the sheets tightly about her chest.

"To the palace." He grinned. He picked her yutaka off the floor and handed it to her.

"N-Now?" She asked, taking the garment and hastily adorning it.

"Well, yeah." He said. He held a hand out to her and she took it as she got off the bed. "Wait, I think I'll get changed." He said suddenly.

"Eh? What about me?" She asked.

"I packed some of your stuff when I came here." He said. He bent down and retrieved a sizable bag from underneath the bed and opened it up.

"And where did you get my stuff?" She asked suspiciously.

"The suitcase that the servants brought up to my room on the day of the wedding." He said nonchalantly. "Your brother said I should bring some of your stuff so I did." He shrugged.

She went over to the bag and rummaged around in it and finally pulled out an ironed floral blue kimono. "This'll do." She said.

Hitsugaya also pulled out some garments and decided on a kimono too, though his was a lot more grand and extravagant. He calmly shrugged off his other kimono and Karin stared in shock. "Oh, my God!" She said, realising that she was staring and she immediately turned around so as to give him some privacy. "Don't do that so suddenly!"

He smirked behind her back and went up to her, the new kimono still clutched in his hands. "Why not? You're my wife." He reached one hand out and slowly traced her cheek.

She flushed a deep red and immediately scurried out of the room. Hitsugaya bit his lower lip to keep from laughing out loud as he slipped his garment on.

* * *

Hitsugaya had brought his own personal carriage to the Kurosaki Clinic when he'd arrived there several days before. He loaded his big bag onto it and helped Karin board it too. Ichigo had suggested that the two of them go and visit everyone at the Kurosaki residence first before going to the palace. Orihime was to make her way back too.

"So, Okaa-sama let you go out of the palace without guards?" Karin asked.

"Yeah. I had to argue though, for at least fifteen minutes straight." He sighed wearily. Just thinking about arguing with his mother was draining, but she'd only caved in finally because she had been upset and she couldn't stay in one person's company for too long these days.

"...Have you seen Urahara lately?" Karin further inquired.

"Not since the wedding. Why?" He turned back in his driver's seat to gaze at her questioningly.

She shook her head dismissively. "No reason, just wondering."

"Hn..."

They arrived at the Kurosaki residence not long after. Karin was greeted enthusiastically by her sister-in-law and Yuzu. Apparently, Hinamori had left for home already, by herself (which was highly impractical because no one knew she was coming back at wherever it was that she lived and females shouldn't really travel by themselves, but nobody had managed to deter her). Rukia was immensely sorry for what she'd done but Karin told her not to be silly; it hadn't been her fault, after all. Orihime also greeted Karin warmly and Karin responded in kind. She even asked about "Ishida-kun", making Orihime blush furiously. Orihime then excused herself by saying that she was going to be packing her things for the move back to the palace.

Karin also got more necessities together and loaded her bags onto the carriage, along with Orihime's bag, and they left for the palace not long after. Karin slept through most of the journey and was woken by Orihime as they approached the palace.

Chikako Hitsugaya was overjoyed to see her daughter-in-law in good health and she immediately had the servants prepare a banquet. Karin offered her condolences with utmost sincerity and Chikako gave her a somewhat strained smile. They were then given leave to go off and do their own thing until dinner was ready. Orihime went to the servants'/maids' quarters to put her things away in her room and then went to get on with the duties that Chikako set up for her. Hitsugaya had disappeared off somewhere, leaving Karin to sit aimlessly (and rather uncomfortably) in the drawing room with her mother-in-law. She didn't know where she would sleep either so she couldn't go up to her bedroom.

"Hey."

She heard a low sound and looked around. Chikako hadn't noticed anything; she was busy skimming through the pages of the book that she held.

"Yo..."

Karin looked around again and this time, her gaze alighted on the door, which was open a mere inch. She saw a finger through the crack, motioning for her to come over. She gazed at her mother-in-law before getting up quickly and walking out. Without looking up from her book, Chikako smiled a small knowing smile.

"What?" Karin asked quietly after closing the door behind her. "What was so important that you couldn't just talk in there?"

Hitsugaya shrugged, "I get nervous around my mother these days." He whispered. He took her hand and began walking away.

"Where are we going?" Karin asked, still whispering.

Hitsugaya cleared his throat. "Ahem! There's no need to whisper." He said.

"OK, so where we goin?" She asked normally.

He looked back at her over his shoulder and flashed a grin. "I've a gift for you."

"A g-gift?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, a wedding gift, if you will." He replied.

She felt guilty at that. "I-I didn't get you...anything..."

"Don't worry about it." He responded.

They kept walking for some time, passing many servants and maids in the corridors. They all bowed their heads respectively at the new King and Queen. Karin felt immensely uncomfortable.

They soon emerged outside and Karin breathed a huge sigh of relief. It felt so good to be outdoors! Hitsugaya led her over to the stables near the gardens. The various stable boys bowed and exited upon his approach. Hitsugaya went over to a stable in the middle and opened the door, grabbing a harness and a saddle as he did so.

"Isamu!" Karin exclaimed as the horse emerged out of the stable. She went over to him and started to pet him. Hitsugaya began to fix the reins and saddle on and then led the horse outside. Once outside, he handed the reins over to her. "What do I do with those?" She asked questioningly.

"Take them." He said.

"I dunno how to ride." She said, embarrassed.

"I'll teach you." He offered.

"Thanks, but you're a King now, you have more important matters to deal with than teaching your new wife how to ride a horse." She said dryly.

"But take them anyway. Riding's easy." He continued to hold the reins out to her and she eventually took them. "This is my gift to you." He said softly. "Isamu's in your hands now."

She stared at him in shock. "B-But...This is y-your father's gift..."  
"It's okay." He smiled. "I want you to have him. He's a great horse." He patted the side of the horse with pride.

"B-But, Toushirou..." She protested.

"But nothing. Like you said, I'm going to be King now and either I'm going to be travelling very little around the city or I'll be expected to take a royal carriage, for visits to other parts of the country or just around town. I don't want Isamu to rot away in there." He jerked a thumb towards the stables.

Karin sighed and petted the horse once more. "Th-Thank you..." She whispered. She turned back to him and smiled.

"You're welcome." He said softly. He wound an arm about her waist and turned her around to face him. He closed his eyes and leant towards her, lips parted a little. Karin's hands went to rest upon both his shoulders and she reciprocated his movements and also leant towards him.

"Y-Your Highnesses, l-lunch is served." A servant announced nervously as he came around the corner of the stables and, upon seeing the scene, he immediately apologised, bowed and retreated.

Hitsugaya sighed and let go of Karin. "Alright, let's go." He said almost regretfully.

* * *

"Karin...I'm worried." Hitsugaya mumbled into her neck. "What shall I do?"

Karin shifted a little so that she could see his face in the gloom. She sorted the bedcovers out around her and pulled him closer by the waist. "About what?" She asked.

"About...Being a King." He said uneasily. "I feel as if there's a great weight on my shoulders and it's all been heaped up there all at once."

"Well, I dunno much about what it's like bein a royal an all, but I guess you gotta at least believe in yourself, cuz, at the end of the day, it's your faith in yourself that's gonna get you somewhere." She said softly. "But, if it helps, I believe in you."

He smiled at that and leant in closer. "It helps a great deal." He whispered in her ear. "But what do I do? I've always been estranged from the townspeople. They don't know me well enough."

"Then you've got to start lettin some of the real you leak through whatever kind of facade of detachment you have going on there. I dunno...Hold some meetings in the town square or something...Introduce social parties...I dunno. Make them accept you as their King before you rush off and start your reign. Make them have faith in you that you can do as well as your father did." She said. She reached a hand up and traced his jaw. "You're young, Toushirou, and for that reason, they'll probably see you unfit to rule. You have to make those people get rid of those perceptions and prove to them that you are completely capable of runnin a nation."

He smiled into her hair. "You're good." He said softly.

"Don't I know it?" She grinned.

He pulled back from her and lifted himself up on his arms and leant down, pressing his lips to hers. "I love you..."

"I love you too..."

* * *

Some days later, Karin had come to her brother's house to stay a day or so. In a moment of boredom, she went for a walk down the deserted road where she'd seen the Urahara Shop.

She walked along expectantly, hopefully. She wanted some answers.

When she arrived at the lonely, deserted road, she saw the Shop but there were no discernible lights on and the sign that announced this to be the "Urahara Shoten" was nowhere in sight. Frowning, she went up to it and tried the door. It was open. She went inside.

It was dull and everything from the shelves had been removed. She kept going nonetheless, hoping that she might get some response, but no matter how far she went in, nobody confronted her or came to tell her that she was trespassing in property that wasn't hers. No disembodied voice suddenly announced her name like Urahara had last time and there was no sound at all. She went to the back rooms, to see if there was _any_ trace of _anybody_, but the rooms were empty.

All save the last one.

There was a wider window in this one so she went up to it and looked out. It looked over a messy and overgrown garden. She perchance looked down at the rusty window pane and noticed that there was a small paper wedged in it. She pulled it out, with some difficulty, and opened it up. It had been folded several times. When it was finally opened out, she narrowed her eyes questioningly.

**_Life's mysteries aren't always answered but...nevertheless, we go on. Businesses await and spirits continue to call._**

And so it ends...I wanted to leave it on a thoughtful sentence, hope you liked it :D

Sorry to disappoint anyone who was lookin forward to a big fight, and thank you to ye who said that I write good fight scenes, I'M SO HAPPY, thank you!

Thank you all for stickin to this story! You guys make my day...Thanks...once again.

* * *


	20. University Life I

This is what happened between Ichigo and Rukia while they were at University. I figured that since I hadn't updated in a while and I said I would, I'd just write this story now.

Think of this as in-between story to Kurosaki Shinderrera Part I and Part II, so you aren't completely bored while I get all my research together and start writin. This is like Kakashi Gaiden in Naruto; it's bridging the gap. I should be able to get the next part of the story up soon so keep an eye out. This story isn't going to be long; just a few chapters. Hope y'all like it, if you don't want any Ichi/Rukiness then keep your eyes peeled; the title shoud indicate whether it's IchiRuki or somethin else.

* * *

Rukia yawned widely as she got out of bed and stretched. She fumbled around her small room. The room was one of a multitude of spare ones that could be found in her relatives' home. The Kuchiki family had relatives all over the country; its sub-branches were spread nationwide. It was just lucky for her that the University that she had wanted to attend was in a city where her relatives lived. And it was also lucky for her that she was the adopted sister of the current head of the entire clan. Hisana Kuchiki, wife of Byakuya Kuchiki, had been a commoner. Byakuya had broken the rules of his clan by marrying her but he hadn't cared and when she'd been diagnosed with a fatal illness, he'd tried to keep her at peace as much as possible, even if that meant breaking the rules again. So he'd adopted Rukia as his sister.

Rukia slumped onto her bed as thoughts of her sister took over. She often thought of her sister. Hisana was so sweet and loving. She didn't deserve the illness that she had. It tore at Rukia's heart to think that the older woman had merely two years to live. That was one of the reasons why Rukia was finding it extremely hard to adjust to University life; this was a terrible time to go off and study when her sister needed her family around her.

Other reasons why she didn't really like University life were that nobody treated her _normally_. She didn't have any friends at all and there was simply nobody would who would be willing to come up to her and greet her _normally_. She was a part of the noble Kuchiki clan, which made her status far greater than that of the average student who came from nobility. But all the students held a great deal of animosity for her because she wasn't a _born _noble; she was _adopted_. Everyone would have flocked to her side in sycophantic frenzy had she been born into nobility but everyone thought that Byakuya Kuchiki's adopting her as his sister was pure foolishness, but they'd never say as much; the Kuchiki clan was greatly respected everywhere. Whenever someone did have to talk to her, they did so with politeness but they were very abrupt and hurried away quickly least she tried to engage them with her _common_ speech. Even the lecturers were like that, aside from _one_.

And that one lecturer was one of the _few_ good things about University. Kaien Shiba was one of the lecturers who taught literature and his classes seemed to come alive with zeal for the subject whenever he stepped up in front of all the students. And he treated Rukia _normally_. His speech was like that of a commoner but he didn't _care_. All he aimed to do while up before the students was to make his lessons enjoyable so learning about literature wouldn't actually be a _chore_ but a fun experience.

She gathered her belongings together after readying herself and rushed out. She waved goodbye to her relatives, who asked if she wanted breakfast but she said no and they left it at that. The relatives were snobby folk who didn't really care for Rukia either, because she was a commoner who had been adopted into the esteemed Kuchiki clan. They felt she didn't deserve to go to a prestigious University (which was being paid for by the Kuchiki) just to study literature, it was a waste of money! Of course, they never said as much to Rukia's face but they discussed it frequently among themselves when they thought she wasn't around. But what they didn't know was that Rukia had walked by them many a time to hear them saying such things. That was why she didn't hang around the house very often and the relatives were absolutely happy with that (though they'd never tell Byakuya that she wasn't around most of the time; they didn't want to get into trouble for the girl's mistakes and it _would_ reflect poorly on them; Byakuya would think that they weren't treating his sister right).

So, all in all, Rukia had a rather crappy lifestyle, one could say.

* * *

"Yo, Kuchiki!" Kaien called loudly. Rukia turned around as he came running up to her, books clutched tightly to his chest.

"Kaien-dono!" She exclaimed cheerily. "So, what're we doing for today's lesson?"

He stood up properly, chin held high and he said in a rather superior tone of voice, "Well, Kuchiki...You'll just have to see! My lessons are too great for anyone to imagine! My lessons are sure to astound even the poorest, most illiterate peasant that ever lived! That is how profound I am!" He laughed deeply.

Rukia's sweat dropped. "Er...that's so...freaky..."  
A vein popped in Kaien's forehead. "What d'ya mean "that's so freaky"? Ya little twerp, address me with respect! I'm your teacher, ya know!"

"Whatever..." She mumbled, but she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Being with Kaien was so relaxing. It made her troubles seem so far away. So it was probably for that reason that his death hit her extremely hard.

* * *

"You all have a new teacher today!" One of the lectures announced in a voice that was trying (but failing) to be cheerful.

There was a general round of protests from the students. They all enquired what had happened to Kaien Shiba. None of the students were more shocked than Rukia. Everyone had loved Kaien; his teaching methods had been so engaging and he wouldn't pause until _everyone_ understood the texts. He had treated everyone fairly, no matter what their background, history or appearance. He would always involve all the students in the discussion of the subject of their studies so as to further their understanding and he wouldn't hear of any shyness so, for a brief period of time, it was as if barriers of social etiquette and status did not exist. Rukia held him in utmost reverence.

"I'm afraid...there has been a terrible occurrence for the Shiba family." The lecturer continued solemnly with his head bowed.

Rukia's eyes were fixed unwaveringly on the man as he talking, wanting him to say whatever it was that he wanted to say to everybody instead of dawdling and looking for euphemisms. She felt an ominous sense of dread.

"Kaien Shiba..."

Rukia's heart picked up at the sound of his name, and it went even faster at the thought that something was not right.

"...Has met with an untimely demise..." The lecturer continued with his head bowed respectfully.

The whole class was stunned but Rukia's world was falling apart around her. Her ears blocked out of the sound of the lecturer's voice as he explained that Kaien had suffered a rather terrible fall. Nothing made sense.

_Oh, the world is truly a cruel place..._She thought dazedly, _but to take away one so vibrant and strong...No...Kaien-dono..._

She could feel tears lining her eyes and she tried hard to stifle the sob that was threatening to burst from her throat.

_Kaien-dono...Kaien-dono...S_he thought frantically. _Please lord, if this is some dream of twisted fate, then let me wake up. LET ME WAKE!_

But she didn't wake. She continued to sit there as the lecturer did a little prayer with the rest of the class and the other lecturers of this course in honour of the deceased. But Rukia didn't take any of it in. She refused to cry there. She _absolutely_ refused. _But Kaien-dono_...

She remained zoned out for the rest of the seminar. She thought of nothing but Kaien. She couldn't believe it. It was so...unexpected. Everything ceased to matter.

The one true friend that she had ever had was gone...

How great it had been to share moments with him on the campus grounds, lazing in the afternoon sun, to hear him tell his corny and lame jokes but laugh nonetheless because he was apt to behave like such an idiot at times. Kaien Shiba had been the peak of her existence at the University. No one, at any point in her life, could compare with him.

And now, he was gone...

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki rose from his bed and yawned wide. His thoughts were still occupied with what was happening at home. He often had dreams about his sisters and his father (the idiot) and even his long dead mother. He sent letters home but it took such a long time for them to get there and then for the replies to get back so he completely forgot what he'd actually written in the first place. And besides, he was busy with work and University life so he didn't often get to write any letters.

"Good morning, Ichigo!" Keigo Asano cried out as he flung himself at his orange-haired friend. Ichigo didn't even know what happened next until he heard a thud and saw the brown-haired boy pressed face-first into the opposite wall.

"Oh, Keigo, what're you doin in the wall?" Ichigo said blearily, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely. He could probably guess; he had a habit of kicking people first thing in the morning if they disturbed him.

"N-Nothin..." Keiko said as he painfully extricated himself from the said wall. There was a Keigo-shaped dent in it now. He rubbed the back of his sore head; having Ichigo for a roommate was painful. "Good mornin."

"Yeah, g'mornin." Ichigo said dismissively as he walked out of the room. He lived in the accommodation provided by the University and he had the misfortune to share a room with one other boy; Keiko Asano. Keigo was a loudmouth who made it his duty to wake his roommate up and he still hadn't got the message that the said roommate wanted to wake up by himself instead of being roused by a self-proclaimed alarm clock that came with personalised messages, no matter how many times "_it_" had been subconsciously kicked into the wall.

Ichigo sighed heavily as he went to the bathroom. _Another day at the University begins_...he thought dryly. He liked it at the University, but he missed his little sisters terribly. He wondered how they were getting on. He hadn't seen them in almost seven months. For six of those seven months, he'd been at the University and the one month extra had been so that he could settle down early and find himself a part-time job. The reason why he'd wanted a job (even though he didn't need it) was so that he could save the money that his father sent him and use it for things that required greater sums of cash, like the equipment that he needed for his course at the University. His part-time job was so that he could actually enjoy himself on the odd occasion when he was free. He figured that, since he was breathing, he might as well live a little.

"Keigo, let's go!" He called out after he had finished readying himself and grasped his bag.

"Hey, lemme eat breakfast at least!" Keigo protested from the kitchen.

Ichigo looked to the time piece that hung upon the wall in the corridor and sighed in frustration. They didn't have much time to get to class. "I'm gonna be late. I'll seeya later." And with that, he opened the door of their accommodation and walked out.

A minute later, Keigo emerged hurriedly and locked the door after himself. "Ichigo, wait! You're so rude!" He exclaimed as he caught up with the orange-haired boy. There were streams of tears running down his cheeks.

"Don't be so dramatic, idiot." Ichigo sighed as he continued walking. He didn't spare his friend a glance.

"You're so mean." Keigo muttered. He sighed. All he tried to do was lighten the atmosphere so the orange-haired boy could feel a little more at ease. Keigo knew Ichigo missed his family, and he wasn't one to interact with people much so he was rather lonely. Keigo was the one who had invited him to join his group of friends upon seeing that Ichigo did nothing in his time at the University aside from going to lessons, going to his job and sitting in the room getting on with his studies. Keigo had invited Ichigo to come and have dinner with the whole gang once; they were going to go into town for the evening. The reason why the brown-haired boy had invited him had been because Keigo had been in a bit of a dire situation once, about five months ago.

He'd gotten into a fight with another guy from his class (outside of class, of course) and he'd been on the losing side. He'd received plenty of bruises and he'd been bleeding profusely and the other guy had been just about to finish him off but his roommate, who had happened to be passing by, had intervened. He'd blocked the other guy's punches and kicks and he'd easily gotten rid of him and then he'd tended to Keigo. He was a medical student so he knew a thing or two about healing, and he made it a habit to take a first aid kit in his bag in case he needed it in class. He whipped it out and applied bandages to Keigo's wounds, after cleaning them out and wiping the blood away, and then helped him get back to their room. Keigo had been immensely grateful to the orange-haired boy and the following evening, when his friends had come around to his room to tell him that they were all going into town, Keigo asked Ichigo to come too.

"_Say what?" Ichigo asked, looking up from his biology textbook._

"_Um, I wanted to say thanks...for helpin me out yesterday," Keigo replied, looking down._

"_Hey, Asano, hurry up!" One of Keigo's friends called roughly._

"_Yeah, yeah, hold on a second!" Keigo called back. He turned his attention back to his roommate. "I'd really appreciate it if you came."_

_Ichigo continued to gaze at him with narrowed eyes for a while and then shrugged. "As long as I don't have ta pay," he said unconcernedly. _

_Keigo had looked at him in shock, "Wha...! That's just...! That's not fair! Not fair!" _

_Ichigo shrugged again and slipped a jacket on. "You said you wanted to say thanks." He said indifferently._

_Keigo slumped and then sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll pay."_

"_Great." Ichigo said blankly._

_They left the room and locked it behind themselves. Keigo introduced Ichigo to his friends. "Yo, we have a new addition to the group. This is Ichigo Kurosaki."_

_Ichigo scowled. "Who said I'm part of your group?"_

"_Ha hah...So mean..." Keigo mumbled to himself. "Anyway, Ichigo-san, these guys are my friends." He then began introducing the three guys who were waiting rather impatiently. He started with the shortest one with the dark hair. He looked rather innocent. "This is Mizuro Kojima; he has a fetish for older women."_

"_Asano-san!" Mizuro protested. "That's..."_

"_Moving on!" Keigo cut over the boy and introduced the huge guy with wavy brown hair. "This is Sado Yasutora..."_

"_Chad?" Ichigo asked mistakenly._

"_No, it's Sado..." Sado began._

"_That's what I said, Chado." Ichigo insisted._

"_But it's Sado..." Sado corrected._

"_Who cares?" Ichigo snorted. "Chado."_

_Sado sighed and gave up._

"_Anyway, that guy is Renji Abarai." Keigo continued, indicating the red-haired man with tattoos in place of his eyebrows._

"_Yo." Renji said._

"_Why do you have tattoos on your eyebrows?" Ichigo questioned, pointing._

"_Shut up." Renji grumbled. He didn't take kindly to people making fun of his eyebrows._

"_Why?"_

"_Stop being annoying!"_

"_I only asked a simple question and you told me to "shut up"! The hell kinda way to reply is that?!" Ichigo demanded angrily._

"_Shut up, dandelion!" Renji snapped._

"_You shut up, funny brows!" Ichigo responded in kind._

_Pretty soon, the argument escalated and the two of them had to be restrained in order not to charge one another._

"_Guys, guys! Calm down! We're only gonna get some dinner, not injure one another in the process!" Keigo tried to appease everyone._

"_Shut up!" Ichigo and Renji both yelled, lodging their fists into either side of Keigo's face._

"_Argh!" Keigo cried out as he was hit and then began to fall through the air. "So mean...!"_

_Everyone sighed._

That was the first time that Ichigo met the whole group. They'd all gotten on moderately with him and they all greeted him and asked him to hang out with them at lunch time so pretty soon, he started spending all his free time with them.

Upon entering the Campus grounds proper, Ichigo bid his friend a rather stiff goodbye and went on his way. Keigo sighed and went in the opposite direction.

* * *

After his morning seminar, Ichigo went off on his own. He'd join the other guys later. He had half an hour before lunch began anyway; the class had been let out marginally early because the lecturer had had a sudden notice about something that required his immediate attention.

He decided he'd go for a walk to clear his head a little. Ichigo Kurosaki wasn't usually one for homesickness and he convinced himself that he wasn't homesick; he was just missing his _family_, or his sisters to be precise. After his mother had died, he'd vowed to himself that he'd protect his sisters no matter what. He couldn't help his sisters if he was so far away from them, but he needed to do this course if he wanted to continue with his father's business. His father would have to give it up one day and Ichigo would take over. His sisters would be about thirteen now; in the next few years, they'd be liable to get married off and he wanted to be there, to see who would get their hands and be bound to them. He wanted to thoroughly check over the men who would become his brothers-in-law. But what if his father chose suitors for both of them while he was still stuck at University? He wouldn't like that at all. He had to know what was going on with his sisters; he was their protector, after all. In the event that something happened to his father, he would be their rightful guardian. He wished his father would hold off until he was finished at University.

He sighed as he continued along the path. _Oh well, whatever happens will happen, right?_ He thought._ There's no use bein depressed over it_.

As he continued to walk, he became immersed in thoughts of his studies. He was getting along fine in the course. He was a good student who put his head down and did his work without being questioned. By nature, he easily rose to bait if provoked and he would get up to fight in no time at all but he was trying his utmost to fade into the background at the University so as to not get himself noticed. People tended to make fun of him because he already stood out with his hair and he'd gotten into a fair amount of fights already but he tried not to. He had vowed to himself upon arriving here that he would do his best to keep his attention wholeheartedly on his education instead of needless fighting, but he was a fighter characteristically. It was what made Ichigo Kurosaki _Ichigo Kurosaki_. It defined him and it was helped immensely by the fact that he was strong. He was only nineteen but his physique was quite broad and his muscles were extremely well honed; it was the result of years and years of endless martial arts practice. He'd been a prodigy in combat, or at least, that was what his sensei, Urahara, had told him. Urahara was the guy who had run the local dojo in the city where Ichigo had lived and he'd been a good friend of his father's. Maybe that had been why he'd always treated Ichigo exceptionally than the rest of his pupils; because he was an old friend of Isshin Kurosaki's. He'd offered to privately tutor Ichigo after he'd first seen the boy, which had been about twelve years ago now. Ichigo had been training from the age of seven to late last year. He sighed again. He missed Urahara too, with his enigmatic ways and everything; he'd still been a close friend, one of the few that Ichigo had ever had. His mentor had always had an air of mystery about him and he'd never let anything on about his personal life or whatnot. By the way that he'd taught Ichigo, Ichigo seriously doubted whether the man even had one.

He sighed again and abruptly walked into someone. He stared down in puzzlement; he hadn't seen anything before him.

"Hey, watch it, ya little midget!" He said coldly to the girl who had bumped into him. She was quite petite; farther down than his level of vision and the first thing he noticed (apart from her height) was that she had dark, shoulder-length hair.

"Ah, G-Gomen." She stammered as she looked up at him. She suddenly seemed to freeze and her dark eyes went wide. Ichigo frowned; what was with that reaction. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost or something. "Do you colour your hair?" She asked normally, looking at his orange head.

"What?" He grunted. _Eh? What the hell's up with that?_ Ichigo thought, wondering whether he should be angry or not; the question had sounded genuine enough. "No, I don't, and it's none of your business anyway."

"Why are you still standing in my way?" She asked, ignoring him.

"I'm waitin for an apology, ya twerp." He scowled. Why the hell hadn't she been paying attention anyway? She was the one who banged into him.

"But I already apolo...WHAT?! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I APOLIGISE, YOU CARROT-TOP?!" She yelled.

"You're the one who was lookin down when you shoulda been lookin up." He retorted. Actually, he was to blame too because he'd been completely zoned out too, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Sorry, but I don't usually expect people to bang into me just like that!" She snapped.

"Yeah, well seein as though you're so freakin short, I totally missed that you were actually there!" _She is really short_, he thought, looking down his nose at her.

"Well, we're not all lofty giants like you!"

"I'm not a lofty giant." He said coolly. "I'm just taller than you, _way_ taller."

"Shut up, Carrot-top." She sighed. "Now get out of my way before you lose something."

"Are you threatenin me, midget?" He asked, bending down so that his eyes were level with hers. "Oh man, the strain of bendin down so low! Oh, this is unbelievable! You're so freakin short!" he could actually feel his back protesting as he bent down. She was _really_ short.

Various veins popped on the girl's face and she grunted something incoherent (which none of the other girls on campus would do, _ever_, because it wasn't ladylike). Before he could say anything, she dropped to the ground and kicked his legs out from under him. He hadn't been expecting that _at all_; he fell rather heavily.

"How's the view from down there, Carrot-top?" She smirked as she stood over him.

Ichigo began to stand up. "Is this now you usually see things, midget? Everything looks _so_ big!"

The look of triumph faded from her face and she glared at him. "Shut up..." She walked past him and continued on her way but Ichigo called out. "Say, midget, what's your name?" He figured that since he'd been so familiar as to kick him to the floor, he had a right to know her name. They hadn't introduced themselves yet.

She threw him a look over her shoulder and replied nonchalantly, "Kuchiki. Rukia Kuchiki."

Ichigo's gaze went wide. "K...Kuchiki?" He asked slowly. "The Princess, huh?" He'd heard of the Kuchiki; apparently, they were at the top of the nobility in this country. He'd heard that one of them studied here. But he hadn't expected anyone as _unladylike_ as the midget he was seeing at the moment. "Well, later, Princess." He put up his hand to do a stoic wave and walked away. His friends would surely be waiting now. It was not a good idea to keep them waiting; he'd done so various times over the past months and he had Renji nearly always came to blows.

* * *

"Oi, Ichigo, we've been waitin here five minutes, where the hell were you?" Renji Abarai asked as Ichigo finally rounded the corner at where they usually had lunch.

"Shut up. I don't have ta explain myself to you." Ichigo said nonchalantly as he took his bag off and dropped down onto the grass. It was nice sunny day.

"What the hell's with that slack attitude?!" Renji demanded irritably.

"Ano, please don't fight." Mizuro said softly.

"You shut up, Kojima." Renji snapped.

"Oi, leave him alone; he was only tryna calm you down." Ichigo drawled, rising to the dark-haired boy's defence.

"Whatever." Renji snorted as he sat down too. He dug into his bag and pulled his lunch out and began to eat.

"Where's Keigo and Chado?" Ichigo asked.

Renji shrugged. "Chad's seminar don't start til the afternoon anyway but he said he didn't wanna come in for lunch today, and I think I saw Asano a while ago tryna get the attention of this girl from his class."

Ichigo snorted. "What girl in her right mind would wanna be seen with _him_?"

Renji grunted in agreement.

The silence stretched as nobody spoke. Ichigo's mind absently wandered to the girl who he'd bumped into. _Kuchiki. Rukia Kuchiki._ She'd said it as if she'd been expecting a major reaction, which she probably got from everybody else but why the hell would _he_ care? He wasn't from this country anyway; he had no reason to suck up to nobility. And what was so special about the nobility? As far as he could see, Rukia was a normal person. _Albeit, a really short normal person_, he thought. She didn't seem to have any interest in being ladylike because he was sure he'd heard her utter some profanities, and they'd been rather _inventive_ profanities too.

"Hey, Renji, do you know the Kuchiki girl who studies here?" He asked after a while.

"Huh?" Renji looked up from his drink and narrowed his eyes. "Not personally."

"I didn't expect you to." Ichigo said dryly. "Anyway, what's the deal with her? She's a bit of a loner, right?"

Renji shrugged. "Don't ya know her story? She's not a born noble and no one treats her like one but they're all too scared of the Kuchiki family to really bully her or whatnot. If she wasn't a Kuchiki, she probably wouldn't be farin as well as she is."

"Why's that?"

"She's a commoner, originally. Byakuya Kuchiki fell in love with her older sister and they got married and Rukia was accepted into the family too because her sister wanted it. Why the sudden interest?" Renji looked at him expectantly out of the corner of his eye. The orange-haired boy had never really shown an interest in anyone for as long as they'd all been hanging out.

Ichigo shrugged. "No reason. Ran into her today; nasty little midget."  
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What'd she say?"

Ichigo grunted noncommittally. "She kicked me to the ground, the little..." He wasn't inclined to say anything beyond that. He didn't make it a habit to swear at women. Actually, he tended to avoid women altogether because he didn't know how to deal with them. His mother had been the only woman in his life and he'd cared a great deal for her but he'd only been a little kid when she passed on so he hadn't had time to see what women were really like. There were his sisters, who would eventually turn into women but he wouldn't ever think of his kid sisters as anything but his kid sisters.

Renji's red eyebrows rose high. "She kicked you to the ground? How'd she manage that? She'd what, four feet tall?"He guffawed and was promptly hit in the head with a bottle of water thrown by Ichigo. A vein popped in his forehead and he rounded on the orange-haired boy. "Oi, what was that fer?!" He yelled.

"You're bein so fuckin noisy. Shut the hell up." Ichigo said in annoyance.

"You shut up, Strawberry!" He exclaimed. He picked up the water bottle and lobbed it back at his friend. Ichigo protested and then turned to face him angrily. A loud argument ensued, which ended with Mizuro (who had been eating his lunch quietly) interfering and taking the hits that the two had aimed at one another.

"Oops." Renji grinned sheepishly as he looked down at the fallen boy.

* * *

Much later, when Ichigo had been about to leave the campus grounds, somebody bumped into him again. He'd been looking at a point in the distance and he reasoned with himself that he would have seen the person before they bumped into him if they'd been of normal height instead of extra short.

"Do you make it a habit to look down every time you're walkin, Hime-sama?" He asked, having convinced himself that she was looking down otherwise she wouldn't have bumped against him.

"Why, do you make it a habit to deliberately stand in people's way when they're walking?" She retorted.

"Not really," He grinned and placed a hand flat against her head and bent down so that his eyes were level with hers, "Short stuff." A vein prominently bulged in her forehead and he let her go and walked away. He didn't really need to be dawdling around; today was one of those days when he had to work late from the evening until midnight and he wanted to get some studying done before he went, and maybe an hour or so of sleep.

The next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground and a light weight was pressing at a certain part of his back; someone was sitting on him. "You dare mock me, Carrot-top?" Rukia asked in a menacing tone. He knew if he could look up at her, her visage would be a mess of bulging veins.

"Get off, midget, people are starin at you." He grunted. That was a lie; the place was fairly empty.

She got up immediately at that and looked around and then narrowed her eyes at Ichigo as he stood up. "You liar."

"The name's Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki. Pleased to meet you, hime." He said mockingly.

"Do not mock me." She threatened.

He smirked at that. "What're you gonna do, hime?"

In response, she threw a punch at his gut and he doubled over. But whatever sense of triumph she had felt was short-lived as he straightened up and grinned. He didn't hurt that easy. "Takes a lot more than a midget to hurt me." He said.

"Oh yeah?" She challenged and immediately kicked him in the groin.

He groaned as he fell to his knees, hands immediately going to rest upon the part that hurt.

"How's that, Strawberry?" Rukia asked with a smug grin.

Ichigo had just about had enough. "You're lucky I don't hit women." He said tetchily as he stood up unsteadily and walked away. He heard her harrumph behind him. He spared her a glance over his shoulder and saw that she was walking off in the opposite direction. He found that a corner of his mouth was twitching upwards and he immediately went blank once again.

* * *

REVIEW!! Please...


	21. University Life II

You know, progress might be a bit slow for this bridging story cuz I don't really have many ideas for it; I've already expressed what happened between them. But I should be able to come up with something so hopefully you guys won't be waiting long. You might have a while to wait for Part II though cuz I'm still gathering my research and getting the plot together, but please stick with me :D

I think, considering the times, all my stories may take some time to update cuz I need to revise an stuff for my exams. The bigs ones; you know, the one's that'll get me into University. Wish me luck!

Oh, if anyone's got any profound ideas for Beloved, please do tell cuz I have very little inspiration at the moment :(

* * *

The next day, Rukia was sitting in her usual place (under the shade of a tree in one of the less frequented paths in the University grounds), having lunch. She was just about to open her lunch and dig in when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked up in puzzlement and saw the boy from yesterday coming at her.

"WAAAAH!" She cried as she made to dodge but he stopped just short of her.

"Hey." He greeted blankly, breathing a little hard.

"What do _you_ want?" She asked irritably. "If you don't mind, I want to have my lunch in peace."

"That's no way to talk to someone who's been lookin all over for you." He said.

She frowned up at him. He'd been looking for her? "Why were you lookin for me?" She asked.

"Um...I wondered you'd like to have lunch with my group." He said, looking away.

She raised a dark eyebrow. "Why on earth would I do that?"

"You don't have ta." He grunted. "But, seein as thought you're eatin alone anyway..."  
She thought about it a while. Actually, she'd been thinking about _him_ a great deal since yesterday. His mannerisms, his way of talking...all reminded her of Kaien. She'd never admit it, but she'd already developed an attachment to him and it was so stupid but Kuchiki etiquette did not allow for its clan members to become attached to anyone outside the family. But her brother could stuff his etiquette up where the sun never shone because he wasn't one to talk; he'd gotten married to a commoner. "Hmm...Alright, can't hurt." She held her hand up.

He raised an eyebrow but took it and pulled her up. She stuck her unopened lunch in her bag and they began walking.

"Why did you seek me out?" She asked after a while.

He shrugged. "I dunno."

She harrumphed thoughtfully but didn't attempt further conversation.

* * *

"Oh? Who's this?" Keigo asked as Ichigo and Rukia emerged around the corner. "Hello, Nee-san!"

Rukia raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired boy's enthusiasm. Ichigo punched him in the cheek, hard. Keigo gave an almighty "oof" and fell over as his cheek swelled to trice its usual size. Rukia grinned.

"Yo, guys, this is Rukia Kuchiki, hope you guys don't mind but I asked her to eat with us today." Ichigo said nonchalantly.

"Hello, Kuchiki-san!" Mizuro was just about the only one from the group (aside from Keigo) who actually looked _alive_. The guy with the red hair and tattoos and the huge guy with the wavy brown hair muttered dull greetings and went back to eating their lunch.

Ichigo sat down and Rukia sat down next to him, suddenly nervous. These people didn't look as if they wanted her to be there but Keigo suddenly got up and sat _right_ next to her and started chattering away.

"Shut up, Keigo! Your infernal racket is so annoyin!" Ichigo snapped after a good few minutes of nonstop chatter.

"My friends are brushing me off! Oh Kami-sama, what do I do? Nobody wants me around anymore! Am I some kind of weed to be pulled out in the garden of impeccable blooms?!" Keigo cried out as dramatic tears flowed out of his eyes.

"Shut up, you freak." Renji grumbled.

Keigo burst into a fresh wave of tears.

"There, there Asano-san." Mizuro said as he calmingly patted his friend on the shoulder.

"'Asano-san'?! What is up with that?! Why is everybody being so formal?!" Keigo cried out loudly. "It's like I'm not a part of this group anymore!"

Beside Rukia, Ichigo sighed heavily and said quietly, "Ignore him. It only encourages his idiotic ways if you pay attention."

Rukia gazed worriedly at the boy with the brown hair and turned her attention to Ichigo. He looked bored. "Do you have to go through this all the time?"

He nodded gravely.

After finishing their lunch, everybody was a little livelier (and a lot more peaceful because Keigo had said he "needed to take a leak, excuse me"), with the exception of Ichigo who looked as if he'd completely switched off.

"Don't worry about him. When he doesn't have anything to do, he drifts off and thinking about his family." Mizuro explained, noting Rukia's look of concern. She'd tried waving a hand in front of his face but he hadn't even blinked.

"His family?" Rukia asked, intrigued.

"Hai. Ichigo has two sisters back home. He talks about them a lot. His mother died when he was about nine so he felt it his obligation to protect them."

Rukia's gaze softened. Whenever she heard tales of someone's family and how close they were to it, she felt an immense liking towards that person, but also a sort of longing. Maybe it was because she was so distant (not by choice) from her own family. She didn't have tales to tell anyone so she almost envied Ichigo at that moment.

"You just need to mention if he has any family and he'll start talkin about his sisters. He's so proud of them." Mizuro smiled widely.

Rukia found herself smiling too. "I'll be sure to do that."

"You want me to wake him up for ya?" Renji asked suddenly.

"No, thank you. I'm sure he's not asleep." She said.

"Damn straight I ain't. You guys shouldn't just talk about me like that when I'm sat right here." Ichigo grumbled suddenly.

"Oh, decided to come back to reality, have we?" Rukia teased.

"Shut up." He grunted as he stood up and grabbed his bag.

"Where're you going?" Mizuro and Rukia asked.

"To stretch my legs a bit." He said as he began to walk away.

"Hey!" Rukia cried out as she stood up and followed him. "You can't just invite me to hang out with you then go off somewhere on your own."

"Sure I can." He replied.

"Shut up."  
"You shut up, midget." He received a kick in the back for that. "Dammit, midget! What was that fer?!" He demanded as he turned on her furiously as he rubbed his back.

"DON'T CALL ME A MIDGET!" She yelled.

"Well, I can't help it if you are one!"

"Shut up before you lose something!"

"Are you threatenin me?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

They turned out of sight of the others, who were now looking incredulously at the pair. They sighed as the two disappeared from view, still arguing.

"What is up with that?" A puzzled Renji asked.

"Who knows?" Mizuro said wonderingly.

Chad merely sighed thoughtfully.

* * *

Ichigo had asked Rukia to come along the next day too and, having nothing else to occupy herself, she agreed. They got into a routine. The group became used to having her around and all of them relaxed somewhat and they all talked a lot more. With the exception of one Ichigo Kurosaki, of course; Ichigo always kept himself to himself. He never contributed to the conversation unless asked a question and that would be it. After a few weeks, their conversations died down and so did their occasional walks. They would greet each other if they saw one another in the University and then exchange minor comments during lunch but that was it.

Rukia thought about him though. She thought about him a lot. He was always on her mind, constantly pulling at something within her. She wanted him close by. Maybe that was why she never spoke to him much; just having him around was enough. He made her feel...real, not just part of the scenery. She didn't know why that was. When they did talk, they argued, a _lot_.

"Where the hell is she?" Ichigo demanded impatiently.

"Oh, gettin worried are we?" Renji asked slyly.

"Shut up, pineapple-head!" Ichigo snapped.

Renji, unusually, didn't rise to the bait. He just shrugged. "I know she's here today though; I saw her in the morning."

"Usually she's never late." Ichigo said agitatedly.

They'd been waiting for Rukia to show up for ten minutes now. She was one who took notice of the time _all_ the time; it wasn't like her to be _this_ late.

"Relax, Ichigo. I'm sure she just decided to take a walk or something." Keigo said offhandedly. He was unusually sober today; maybe it was Ichigo's agitation that was getting to him. Keigo Asano was someone who strutted his idiotic stuff when he was in a nice and calm atmosphere but Ichigo was practically bleeding anxiety.

"Yeah, he's got a point." Mizuro agreed. Usually, he wasn't one to agree with Keigo.

"We'll miss the bus if we get any later than five minutes. I did say quite clearly to be here by four and it's now almost a quarter past." Ichigo said. "I'll go look for her." He immediately turned back to the University entrance and ran off.

"Man, he's really worried about her." Keigo said, watching him go.

First, Ichigo went down the path that she frequently took; the deserted one. He felt something was not...right so he hurried his pace.

His fears were confirmed when he saw a group of people some distance away. They were three boys, looking as if they were kicking something. Ichigo's heart flared in anger as he was pretty sure he knew who was on the floor, at the boys' feet.

_She's not a born noble and no one treats her like one but they're all too scared of the Kuchiki family to really bully her or whatnot._

Renji's words came back to him from the first time he'd asked about Rukia. It seemed like someone had finally decided that they'd had enough of her.

He ran as fast as he could and pretty soon, he was on the scene. His anger was reaching boiling point as he finally caught sight of his friend upon the ground with blood pouring out of her gagged mouth. _Bastards...They even gagged her_, he thought furiously.

As he approached the boys, he immediately knocked the one off his feet, thus getting attention of the other two.

"What do you guys think you're doin?" He asked them malevolently.

"Huh!" One of the boys turned around from where he'd been stood kicking Rukia and charged at the orange-haired boy. Ichigo easily dodged his punch and kicked him in the gut, followed by a kick to his head. The boy was sent sprawling, unconscious, to land some ways away. "Bastard!" The remaining boy yelled as he followed his friend's example and charged at Ichigo. The orange-haired boy disposed of him quickly by a _hard_ sweeping kick to his legs. The boy fell heavily and Ichigo immediately went over to Rukia.

He didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything at all for a while. He checked to see whether her injuries were major or minor. On this of all days, he didn't have his medical kit on him. The seminar that they'd had today had been all about written work instead of practical; the students had been told that they wouldn't need their kits. He sorely regretted not bringing it now. It pained him to see her like this; he wasn't one to stand by while his friends got hurt so it really tore at him. No friend of his should have to go through this.

After checking her over, he picked her up and was a little surprised at how light she was. She didn't look all that heavy and he hadn't expected her to be but she was about as weighty as a feather. Just how thin was the skin upon her muscles? No wonder she'd been beaten up so bad and no wonder none of her kicks ever hurt (unless she kicked him in the groin). He was being extra careful. It felt as if she'd give out if he jolted her around too much. She seemed so fragile.

After a while of walking in silence, he finally said softly, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" She asked just as quietly. He could tell she still had some blood in her mouth because a few specks of it shot out and went to rest upon her chin. He didn't even have water with which she could rinse her mouth out.

"Baka, that's not your fault." She muttered.

They didn't talk again. Ichigo's regret made him pause; what could he say to her? By the time he arrived at the entrance to the grounds, Rukia had lost consciousness. She really was fragile; it had only been a few kicks to the stomach. Ichigo was sure normal people didn't faint after a few kicks.

When he approached the rest of the group, they all stared, horrified at her condition. They demanded to know what had happened so he told them.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll take her to the hospital." He said. He didn't wait for a response but wasn't surprised when, after half a minute or so, all of them followed him and caught up. She meant a lot to everyone in the group; she wasn't just _his_ friend.

The atmosphere they generated was akin to the one at a funeral procession. Ichigo wanted to snap at them that she wasn't dead but he kept quite.

* * *

Rukia came to in a dimly lit hospital room and a dull throbbing in the region of her abdomen. _Why am I in a hospital?_ She thought as she looked around. Her gaze alighted upon the faces of five guys on either side of her bed. Ichigo was sitting the closest with his legs on either side of the back of the chair and his arms crossed over the edge of it. His head was resting upon his arms and his eyes were closed. _He scowls even in sleep,_ she thought wondrously as she continued to gaze at him. She blinked a few times and then gazed at all the others.

Renji was sprawled all over the chair with his red hair splayed every which way and one of his arms resting across his chest and the other hanging limply off the side. He was issuing a loud snoring noise. Chad was sitting regally with one of his legs drawn upon the other and his arms folded across his chest and his head bowed. She thought he was asleep. Mizuro's chair was drawn up next to Keigo's and Mizuro's head had slid down to rest upon Keigo's lap, where he was now drooling copiously. Keigo himself was resting his head on the bedside table. She grinned weakly at their positioning and attempted to straighten up. The throbbing in her abdomen became a little more pronounced and she hissed loudly in pain. Ichigo woke up.

"Hey, you're up." He said blearily as he sat up straight. He stretched. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled a little. "What're you guys all doin here?"

He shrugged. "They were all worried about you."

"Oh, and why are you here?" She asked, eyebrows rose questioningly.

He shrugged again. "Someone had to help you out."

Rukia didn't know why but, at that moment, her feelings towards Ichigo multiplied several times. He really did have a strong likeness to Kaien and not only in his appearance either. Kaien would never have admitted it, but he'd had a rather soft spot for those people around him and he hadn't been able to stand anyone in pain. That was why he'd always talked to her and gotten to know her; because he'd felt it his duty to eliminate any kind of trouble she was going through, as her teacher but also as her friend. Ichigo couldn't stand people in pain either. She felt tears coming to the fore of her eyes. She hastily ran the back of her hand over them to get rid of the moisture. Ichigo seemed to notice.

"You alright?" He asked, his tone a little more concerned than it usually was.

She blinked several times and smiled. "Yeah, never better."

He snorted. "Whatever." But he was glad to see that she was okay.

* * *

Ichigo, by his own proclamation, was appointed Rukia's bodyguard after that. He wouldn't hear of her going off by herself so he told her to wait for him whenever she finished lesson so that he could walk her down. Rukia thought this rather sweet but the emotion that she outwardly showed was discomfort.

"You don't have to do this, Ichigo." She said.

He merely shrugged in response.

They talked while they were on these walks, a little. Rukia gained a little better understanding of him. He really did go on endlessly about his sisters at times.

"Yuzu's like a housewife. I offered to train her too but she rejected my offer. Karin took it, though. She was a good pupil." He grinned. "She's a great fighter..." He trailed off and the small smile died on his lips.

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

He shook his head and looked ahead. "Nothin, just wondering what they're doin now."  
There were times when they fought too.

"The sun sucks." Ichigo commented.

"No, it doesn't." Rukia said as she looked up and closed her eyes.

"Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yeah, it fuckin does."

"There's no need to be so angry. I have my opinion and you have yours. Let's just leave it at that."  
"Fine!"

Most of their fights were more...physical than that. At least once a day, Rukia ended up kicking him in the groin and Ichigo directed an unholy amount of obscenities at her. She ignored him at the best of times but sometimes she couldn't resist kicking his legs out from under him.

* * *

Review! Please!


	22. University Life III

Okay this is the last chapter in the bridging story. You'll notice that everything is rushed towards the end. I really wanted to finish this up. And sorry if it's got any spelling or grammer mistakes or whatever; I haven't proofed it at all. Sorry.

I've got the first chapter in the next series sorted so I'll be releasing that soon! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don own Bleach :D

* * *

"You okay?"

Rukia was broken out of her train of thought and looked up at Ichigo. He immediately looked away. He wasn't the type to show concern all that much.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled. She wasn't fine at all. Her sister's health was still deteriorating. Hisana tried to hide it from the letters that she sent to her sister but Rukia knew. She didn't have long to live. What was Rukia supposed to do? She loved her sister very much. She wanted to go home and stay by her side but Hisana wouldn't hear of it. She said Rukia should continue with her studies no matter what.

_We're so lucky to have had the lives that we have, Rukia-chan, make the most of it. Byakuya-sama is a very kind person; don't tread upon his hospitality_.

That was what she'd written in her most recent letter. Rukia sighed again and continued her lunch.

Sitting across from her some ways, Ichigo watched carefully as her emotions played minutely across her face. He wished she'd tell him about her home life, about what was getting her down like that but she wouldn't. She was as reserved about her troubles as he was.

He sighed and looked away. Why did he even care? Everybody shouldered their pain differently.

* * *

The weeks went by uneventfully, aside from Rukia getting even more depressed. Her friends asked her many times what was wrong but she never replied. Ichigo grew worried, though he didn't admit it to anyone or himself. He was getting attached to her and it wasn't a good thing, in his opinion.

The first year of University came to an end. Ichigo asked Rukia if she was going back home and she replied that she was. He was going to stay. He only revealed that on the day she was going, just before she was about to leave.

"But don't you wanna see your family?" Rukia asked.

He shrugged. "I'd love to see my family but what's the use? It'll only be for a few weeks and then I probably won't have the heart to come back here again." He looked away.

"Ichigo..." She said softly. She wanted to hug him but she daren't. "Well, take care."

"I should be the one saying that to you." He said as he looked back and grinned. "Don't trip over and hurt yourself, okay? And don't be starin at the ground too much, otherwise you might bang into _big_ things, midget."

He received a painful blow to his nether regions and Rukia harrumphed and walked away, muttering curses as she went.

* * *

It was the third year that really mattered in the advancement of their friendship. Ichigo finally found out what was wrong with Rukia and why she was so depressed. He found her crying after lunch one day, when he caught up to her. He'd called her name out and rushed over to her in time to see her wiping her eyes. They were red. He hadn't known what to make of that so he demanded her to tell him what was wrong. She tried to brush it off but he insisted.

"_Come on Rukia, I'm your friend! I know something's wrong!" He said doggedly._

"_It's nothing!" She cried._

"_I don't buy that!"_

"_It's none of your business anyway!"_

"_Sorry, but that won't work! Like I said; I'm your friend! You can't brush me off just like that!"_

"_Ichigo...please...!"_

"_No! I've seen you looking depressed for too long! Tell me what's wrong!"_

"_Do you really wanna know?!" She yelled. The tears started leaking out of her eyes again. "Do you honestly want to know?"_

_He looked at her closely and his expression softened. "What kind of question is that? If something's up, then of course I wanna know about it, baka." He sighed._

_The tears in her eyes only continued to roll down her cheeks more profusely. "I..." She began before her voice nearly caught. "M-My...sister...d-died...not too long..." Her voice really caught this time and she sobbed and covered her face with her hands. She suddenly felt herself behind pulled against him and his arms wound around her waist. The tears increased and she sobbed loudly into his chest._

They stopped fighting their comical fights after that. It was as if there was no room to mess about. The time that they spent together was far more serious than it used to be.

She got worse over the months, and her friends' effort to cheer her up made it even worse. She hated it how they worried so much about her but she couldn't even be nice to them.

Her cousin, Momo Hinamori, of a lower branch of the Kuchiki, came over to stay with her some time later in the year. Apparently, she only came to watch over Rukia because Byakuya wished it. She wasn't a big help. Rukia continued to stay depressed.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Keigo cried one day after classes had finished for the day.

"What?" Renji snorted. He didn't like the ideas that Keigo came up with; they were ridiculous.

"I'm sure Rukia-san wouldn't mind going to that graveyard, right? You know, the one we saw last year? We could take a picnic an everything!"

"Great, a picnic in a graveyard." Renji muttered sarcastically.

Ichigo paused. "Hmm...I think it ain't a half bad idea. Rukia sometimes has a thing for morbid stuff, don'tcha Rukia?" He glanced over his shoulder at the petite girl.

She looked up at him and tried to smile but it came out all shaky. "I guess..."

"Ooh, I wanna go!" Hinamori cried, excited. She had been waiting for Rukia after Rukia had finished class so she'd taken to hanging with the group.

"Great! Chad, Mizuro, what about you guys?" Keigo asked in excitement.

"Hmm..." Chad said thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't mind." Mizuro shrugged.

"Alright! It's sorted! How about this weekend?"

"Sure." Everybody chorused.

* * *

"Ne, ne, Rukia-chan, I'm so excited!" Hinamori said with a grin. The boys were walking some ways ahead and the two girls were behind. Ichigo kept looking over his shoulder when he thought everyone's attention was diverted to somewhere else. He was immensely worried about Rukia. He had been ever since he'd found out about her sister's death.

They went to the graveyard and set up their picnic. Ichigo's gaze would oft wander to the short girl with the raven hair. She looked blankly out at all the gravestones. Belatedly, he realised that coming to a ruined _graveyard_ had been the wrong idea. They'd brought her to a place of death when the objective had been to provide a relief from thoughts of death. He sighed. _We were so stupid_. He thought. He sat next to her when they'd gotten everything sorted.

"Alright?" He asked, picking up some food.

"Yeah." She smiled up at him, but it wasn't genuine. He wondered how the hell he was able to tell if her smiles were fake or not, but then deduced that a baby could tell if they were.

They ate and talked. Keigo told of an odd situation that he'd been in a while back and everybody laughed (aside from Ichigo and Rukia). Everybody finished eating and went to explore the graveyard together, laughing and chatting loudly. Ichigo chanced a look at Rukia once and noted that she was still depressed. He sighed and went ahead to join the others. "Come on, Rukia, let's go." He called back.

She smiled a half-smile and nodded. Ichigo had been walking up to the others when he checked behind him and realised that there was nobody there. So, frowning (like always), he told the others he'd catch up in a bit and then turned around and went to look for his friend.

"Rukia?" He called out, looking about as he went. He rounded a bush and saw a rusty mausoleum door open in front of him. It was dark past that door, what if she'd fallen? It looked terrible in there! So, hurriedly, he went in. There were some steps that led immediately down. If he hadn't been careful, he would have slipped and fallen down, and they were stone steps too. It would have hurt like hell, to say the least. He cautiously made his way down. "Rukia?" He called. There was no response, until...there was a sound below that was suspiciously like a cackle. "Rukia?!" He called out again, a little alarmed at the laugh that he'd heard. He cleared the steps immediately and took off down the dark passage, not mindful of any obstructions that might be barring his way in the gloom. "Rukia!"

There was an unnatural glow coming out of a chamber in the end. He paused in it and all he saw was his friend standing in amid it all.

"Ichigo." She said with a smile as he came in.

"Rukia. Finally, don't wander off..." He began but she came over to him and wrapped her arms about his neck and pulled him down to press her lips against his. He was surprised at first, but he gradually relaxed and wound his arms about her waist and pulled her up so that her feet were off the ground. How could he deny what he felt for her when she was so forthright like that? If this had made her happier, he would have done it long ago, if only to ease the pain that she was going through.

Unsuspecting of what was really happening, a sort of electric charge fired through him and he would have broken away but Rukia kept a firm hold on him.

They finally pulled back after a minute or so. Ichigo continued to hold her. "You can put me down now." She said softly.

"Sure." He said in the same soft tone. He gently lowered her to the ground and took her hand.

"Ichigo, let's get married." She said quietly.

"As you wish." He said dazedly. Had he been himself, he would have frowned. They'd had no previous romantic interactions before this so it was a little sudden. But he was not himself. He would bow down to her every whim.

* * *

The spirit that now inhabited Rukia's body made a perfect gentleman out of Ichigo. Thankfully, she let him finish his course; it was obvious that if she was going to get married to him, he'd have to have a respectable profession and he could only do that if he had good qualifications. And she dealt with 'her' family (or Rukia's family). Byakuya took a lot of time trying to be convinced that her choice was wise. He wanted to meet Ichigo and judge him. So Ichigo had to go to meet the Kuchiki leader during the next break that they had. Because Ichigo was under the spirit's control, he passed off as a complete gentleman and Byakuya was satisfied, but not enough. This could have all been a show. He invited Ichigo to stay at the mansion after his course had come to an end. Ichigo complied (as if he had a choice).

'Rukia' didn't like the boys that Ichigo hung out with so she asked him to stay away from them. Ichigo did so without question. His friends couldn't understand. Keigo asked him numerous times what was wrong with him, why he and Rukia had suddenly started to drift away but he never got a response. Ichigo just wasn't interested in the group anymore. Keigo finally got the message about two months later and lay off. All communication between them ceased. They were _just_ roommates, nothing more.

A few weeks after his course finished, some months later, Ichigo had to stay at Rukia's home for a few days. Byakuya observed him carefully and finally judged that he seemed decent enough for his sister's hand in marriage.

The wedding was arranged. It was a quick and efficient affair and Ichigo was instructed to stay in his new wife's home for a little longer.

But tragedy struck when he received a letter from home saying that Isshin, his father, had passed away. He immediately rushed home, after notifying Byakuya. Hinamori Momo, lesser Kuchiki, had to come too because Rukia was about her only friend and Rukia reasoned with herself that she could use an ally. She needed that ally to further her goals.

A year passed by and then the events leading up to the marriage between Ichigo's sister, Karin, and the Prince of Ichigo's country began to unfold. Rukia gradually became who she used to be and found that she was now Rukia Kurosaki. She and Ichigo fell in love with one another anew and they renewed the marriage vows that Rukia had not witnessed.

"I say Hisana." Rukia said, looking down at the little bundle in her arms.

"What's wrong with Masaki?" Ichigo asked moodily.

"But I wanna name her Hisana!" Rukia argued.

"Masaki!"

"Hisana!"

"Masaki!"

"HISANA!"

"MASAKI!"

The baby in Rukia's arms woke up and started screeching at the top of her lungs. "See, you woke Hisana up!" Rukia said accusingly as she held her baby against her and gently swayed her around.

"I woke her up?!" Ichigo hissed angrily. "You're the one who's so incompetent!"

"Ooh, the one who is incompetent is calling others incompetent." She taunted.

"Shut up! And it's Masaki, not Hisana!"

"Can you guys give it a rest already?" Karin sighed as she came in through the door with her twin. "We can practically hear you down the corridor. I feel sorry for the baby."

Yuzu went up to her sister-in-law's bed and held her arms out to receive the baby. Rukia smiled and held the wailing bundle out. Yuzu gently rocked the baby and walked around with it and the little baby girl immediately quietened down and drifted off.

"Wow, Yuzu's got more skill than both of ya." Karin grinned.

Veins popped in both Rukia and Ichigo's skulls. "Shut up!"

"So, what's the conclusion to the name argument?" She asked, still grinning.

"Her name is Hisana!" Rukia huffed, folding her arms across her chest and pointedly looking away from Ichigo.

"What's wrong with Masaki?!" Ichigo insisted irritably.

"Nothing's wrong with Masaki. I just stated my claim first." Rukia answered.

"Your _claim_?!" He asked incredulously. "This is our daughter we're talkin about, not your pet goldfish!"

"I didn't say anything like that, did I, Strawberry?!" Rukia demanded crossly.

"Her name is Masaki!"

"Her name is Hisana!"

"I said...!"

"Geez, give it a rest!" Karin said irritably. "How about Hisana Masaki Kurosaki? Easy option."

Ichigo and Rukia both paused and blinked blankly. "Now there's an idea!" Ichigo exclaimed after a while.

Karin sweat dropped. "So, we're sorted? Hisana Masaki Kurosaki?"

"Sounds okay, but why is Hisana first?" He asked in puzzlement.

"Cuz Masaki Kurosaki should be uninterrupted." Karin grinned. "And it's got a ring to it, whereas Hisana Kurosaki don't."

"Fair point." Ichigo said thoughtfully. "Alright, Hisana Masaki Kurosaki it is!"

* * *

And so ends the bridging story! Hope it hasn't been too much of a bore! Thanks for readin. Like I said, it was rushed at the end a little.

I'll have Shindererra Part II Chapter One up in a while! Meanwhile, the next chapter of Beloved is also up!


	23. Part II: War

Hello and welcome to part II of Kurosaki Shinderrera. I am extremely sorry for the exceedingly long delay but I hope that after this, the updates for this story shall be more regular.

Enjoy! I haven't looked this over so please forgive mistakes!

...War..._Blood_..._DEATH_...

...Dreams of warfare and killings...

...A bayonet shone in the dull afternoon sun and clashed against another item of metal and then it was brought back roughly and thrust into someone...

...Karin jolted awake, sweat lining her forehead, heart hammering madly and her breathing wild. It was dark and she could feel the familiar shape of her husband asleep beside her. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and lay back down, as close to Hitsugaya as possible.

_What was that?_ She thought as her erratic heart slowed down._ It was almost as if...No, that can't be right. No way. It was just a stupid dream_. She told herself.

Nevertheless, she tightened her hold about her husband's waist.

* * *

"My Lord, two messengers from Atsuria have come to seek your audience." A servant knelt before the King, his head bowed.

"Atsuria?" The King asked in a blank drawl. "Send them in."

The servant bowed his head and stood up and hurried away. Hitsugaya sighed and rested his cheek heavily against his propped up fist.

"Try to look lively, dear." A sudden voice said cynically.

Hitsugaya looked to the new arrival as she walked along the red carpet towards the thrones. He raised his eyebrow questioningly, "'dear'?" He asked in his usual drone.

"What's wrong wit dat?" Karin huffed. She picked up the ends of her huge dress as she sat down beside him.

One side of his mouth twitched upwards and he sighed. "Nothin, it's just, you never call me that."

"Ever heard of sarcasm?" She asked dryly.

"Well...it's hard to say, you know, what with my wife practically livin off of it." He commented in the same sarcastic tone.

"Har har, smart mouth." She retorted.

He was about to say something back but the great doors at the other end of the huge, long chamber opened and the messengers from Atsuria came forth and knelt. "Hitsugaya-sama." They both said humbly.

"Ah, the messengers from our good friend Atsuria." Hitsugaya said in his usual drawl. "What is it that hastens you to our fair country?" Karin raised an eyebrow at the choice of lexis. (**Can you totally see the Shakespeare influence :D**)

"My Lord, our King Ukitake-sama sent us to deliver onto you the message that our country is under threat and if this threat is not dealt with accordingly, the surrounding countries shall also be under threat." One of the messengers said.

Hitsugaya sat up straighter. "Oh? What can possibly be so great about this threat that so many nations will be in danger of it?" He asked.

"My Lord, that is what Ukitake-sama has sent us in regards to." The other messenger said. "The enemy is settling on the outskirts of our country at this very moment. They have sent many messengers telling us to give our lands up but so far we have refused and all our messengers have returned upon their horses with their throats slit." There was a slight quiver in the messenger's voice.

"What're you trying to say?" Hitsugaya asked, suddenly tense. Their friendship with the fairly small nation that lay across the Great Sea had been formed during his grandfather's time. His mother was actually from a sub-branch of the ruling family of Atsuria. He had met the King of Atsuria many times. Jushirou Ukitake was a sickly-looking man and, though a great fighter, he lacked the ability to stand up in battle because of his ailment. But he was a kind man, and his country was one of peace. He had been good friends with Hitsugaya's father. So, why would anyone want to bring war onto Ukitake's country?

"Th-The King requires your...assistance." One of the messengers stammered.

"...For what purposes?" Hitsugaya asked carefully.

"To…engage in…battle."

Hitsugaya continued to gaze at them with narrowed eyes for a while. He thought about it. To engage in battle? But the idea was preposterous! They sounded as if they knew nothing of the enemy! "Do you have any information on the enemy?" He asked.

"Only that their numbers far exceed a million in infantry." The messengers said dejectedly.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, as did his wife's. "A...a million?!" He asked incredulously. "But that's..."

"Unbelievable? Hai, Ukitake-sama has asked for the assistance of the surrounding countries." The messenger said gravely. "That is why our Liege has sent us to you. We need help, Hitsugaya-sama. We haven't a fighting chance if we stay the way we are now. The last messenger of ours that came back dead arrived at the capital gates with a note from the enemy saying that they will attack within the month. Prepare for war, they said."

Hitsugaya thought on it carefully. Within the month? That was too soon! How long would it take _him_ to mobilize _his_ army? How many men could Ukitake dispatch before they arrived there? "Alright." He finally said. His raised his voice a little louder and stood up and made to exit the hall, "Rally the troops! We go to war within the month!"

* * *

Sometime later, Karin finally managed to find him.

"Say, that was quite a grand exit." She said as she sat down next to him on the garden bench. She reached out and took a hold of his hand.

"This isn't the time to joke around, Karin." Hitsugaya said in a strained voice, but he didn't shake her off.

"Come on, I'm only tryna lighten the mood." She protested as she hung onto him.

"Karin..." He sighed again, "I think I'd much rather prepare for war than listen to a joke or two."

"Hey, my suggestions count, right? You need to clear your head before you make any rash decisions." She reprimanded.

"You think I'm making a rash decision?" He asked softly.

"No, I think you merely need to think on this." She said firmly. "Calling the men to arms so suddenly is going to reflect badly on your status as a king. You need to let the people know that you're not just sending the soldiers off on a whim. People will lose faith." She paused and sighed. A sudden thought had struck her. "I suppose...you're going to be going too?"

He gazed at her out of the corner of his eyes for a moment and then nodded. "I have to."

"This is why you need to make sure that not all is in chaos at home while you're away. You'll have to secure the home front before you go. If you leave within the month while appearing not to have given this any thought at all, this nation will collapse onto itself. People will begin to protest at the sudden dispatching of the army, and you disappearing with it. They'll lose faith." She gazed at him meaningfully. "Do you understand what I'm saying? The war is going to be your front, but I'm the one who's gonna be stuck back home. Nobody is going to listen to me so you need to secure this place. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to help, I'm just saying..."  
She was silenced by a finger being placed upon her lips. "Shhh...There's no need to tell me this. I understand what you're saying, but the situation will not be as dire as you make it out to be. And I'm going to miss you too, but this is my duty." Hitsugaya said softly, his finger still upon her lips.

She looked up at him sadly and took the hand of the finger than had silenced her. "This is so sudden, Shirou-kun...you're going to go off to fight in a battle..." She whispered, "...forget the civilians, how am _I_ gonna handle it?" She looked beseechingly up at him. "I beg you to think carefully on this."

He slipped an arm about her waist and pulled her closer. His closed his eyes as he leant in and rested his forehead against hers. "Oh, my queen..." He muttered as he caressed her cheek with one hand, "You know I cannot just ignore this, not while our allies are at risk."

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes too. "Yes, my Lord..."

His nose rubbed against hers and he smiled and tilted his head at an angle and pressed his lips to hers. They were just about getting into one another when there was a rather deliberate clearing of the throat some ways away. "Aha-ahem!"

They jolted apart at the sudden intrusion and faced the newcomer. "Okaa-sama." Hitsugaya said, standing up and bowing. There was a small hint of red spreading across his cheeks. Karin flushed a little too.

"Sorry to disrupt the two of you but I've been hearing some rather disturbing news." Chikako said with a small amused smile on her face. "Apparently, we are going into war." The small smile died on her lips and she faced her son with a questioning stare.

"Hai, Okaa-sama." Hitsugaya said. "Ukitake is in trouble. Apparently, there is a million-strong force amassing against Atsuria and he doesn't have the military force to hold it back. We need to help."

"Have you thought this through, Toushirou?" She asked disapprovingly.

"Yes, I have, Okaa-sama." He sighed.

"But, Toushirou, we have not the troops to fight such a large number of infantrymen either." She pointed out.

"I realise that, but we must help." He said firmly. "Atsuria helped us a great deal during the Grenamy Massacres some twenty-five years ago."

"I realise that, Toushirou, but making such a decision without the advice of the council is pure foolishness on your part! What will the townspeople think? And the civilians all over the nation?" She asked heatedly.

"I shall deal with the publicising of this development, Okaa-sama." He said. "I know how to run my country."

"Gee..." Karin muttered. She'd never known him to be so bigheaded.

"I trust that you do, Toushirou. People feel a certain...security with the military in the nation. It does not bode well to suddenly see it leave." She turned on her heel and walked away abruptly.

Hitsugaya sighed and fell onto the bench again. He ran a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. He was suddenly tired. "What should I do?" He mumbled.

"If you ask me, you should know I'ma say not go into war but that's just my own personal opinion." Karin said offhandedly. "Ukitake-san needs help so you should go to help him. He's a great guy and we may need his assistance in the future. They are our allies."

"True...How come you have such an understanding of this kinda stuff?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I haven't the slightest." She shrugged. "Must be cuz I'm, like, super-brainy!" She exclaimed dryly.

Hitsugaya grinned and pulled her close again. "Yeah...You must be..." He mumbled as he stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. His hand then went to rest at the back of her head and he pulled her closer until their noses were touching and he kissed her ardently. Her hands held onto his shoulder and neck as she kissed him back. A few servants walked by but they just quickly went on their way; they were used to the King and Queen occasionally making out in the palace halls and corridors, or gardens. It actually made the two seem more...humane, as opposed to the typical notions people had of royalty. These two really loved one another and they weren't afraid of showing it.

"I think I'll go get changed out of this disgusting garment." Karin said as they pulled back.

"What's wrong with it?" He asked, looking down at her dress.

"It's horrible." She replied with a curled lip, as if it were really that revolting.

"I think it looks...nice..." He replied a little self-consciously; he wasn't one to use words like "nice" very often.

She scoffed at that. "Well then, you try wearin it."

He didn't reply so she turned around and walked away. "Hey wait, I'll come too." He said suddenly as he hurried after her.

"What, just so you can watch me change?" She said dryly.

"Precisely." He replied with a grin.

"Don't let anyone else hear you say that, ya little pervert." She grinned back.

A vein popped on his forehead. "Shut up! I'm not little and I'm not a pervert!"

She laughed and ran on ahead. "By the time you get there, I'll have changed anyway." She called back.

"Oh, yeah?" He mumbled to himself as he also hurried his pace.

It was quite natural for the servants to see the King and Queen (oh so maturely!) racing one another to their room or other places in the palace, though it had taken a _long_ time to get used to it.

* * *

"So, what's the situation?" Hitsugaya asked. They were in a room with a massive table in the middle, across the top of which was laid a huge map of the world.

"The army would have come from across this way." One of the messengers said, pointing to the land next to the one that said "Atsuria". Segregating their nation from the one on the left was a thick red line that ran vertically up the map of the world. The map of the world was cut off and unmarked on the entire left side of the line. The people who made these maps weren't sure of what lay beyond that line, and so they were simply known as "the Lands beyond the Great Border Divide". Nobody dared to venture there. Some had tried but they never had come back. Millions across their side of the world had tried, but the end result had always been the same.

"Beyond the Border?" Hitsugaya asked in puzzlement.

"Hai, Hitsugaya-sama. According to the spies that we've had posted, they've already started to build their trenches."

"Already? On the outskirts?"

"No, my Lord, there's a piece of land here," the messenger pointed to the edge of where their nation met the red line, "that is approximately a kilometre long. Seems like they've already set up their battle positions."

"Hmm, they're eager." Hitsugaya said thoughtfully, staring at the map where the messenger had pointed as if he could actually see the arrangements that were being made over there. "How did you get a hold of their numbers?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Well, the spies say that they had great numbers but we had the fortune of taking a member of their army."

"How did you manage that?"

"Well, the member appeared to be weak. We drew the conclusion that they could expend that certain soldier. He was sent with our latest dead messenger, who was sitting in front of the enemy soldier, and the soldier had awful grin on his face...carrying one of ours without a care in the world, blood leaking onto his uniform..." The messenger gagged. The other one comforted his friend by patting him on the back. Both had been witness to the scene. The messenger straightened up. "For-forgive me, My Lord."

Hitsugaya gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "I suggest you wait out the rest of this meeting, Takei."

"H-Hai, Hitsugaya-sama." The messenger bowed low and retreated out of the room, looking pale.

"Right, continue." Hitsugaya said to the remaining messenger.

"Hai." The messenger sighed. "Well, we took the soldier captive. He broke after quite a long time. He finally revealed that their army was a million strong, and that's only the amount of soldiers that are gathered at the outskirts of Atsuria. Apparently, they also have the naval force to match that of the Integrated Nations altogether."

"_You guys don't stand a chance." The man grinned savagely, even though he was being tortured. The torturer applied his skills once more and the man screamed again._

"_Who's your leader?"_

"_I won't tell...ARGH!" The man screamed as the torturer once again did what he did best._

"_Who is your leader? What's the guy called who's leading this attack?"_

"_Ai-AIZEN...AIZEN-SAMA! Sosuke Aizen!" The man cried as more pain was inflicted._

"_Sosuke Aizen?"_

"_Y-Yes...yes!"_

"_What's his aim?"_

_The man forcefully ground his teeth and looked down. The interrogator signalled to the torturer and the torturer picked up a whip. He lashed it at the prisoner's bare back and the man cried out._

"_What's this Aizen person's aim?" The interrogator asked again._

"_Y-You'll find out...You'll find out..." the man said amid gasps of pain._

"_Tell us...now." The torturer's whip lashed again and another deep cry broke out into the small dark room._

"_Okay...okay..." The man actually had tears in his eyes from the pain on his back. "...H-he wants to...take over the world. He's already conquered all the lands past your Border Divide. He aims to...to conquer the entire world." He was panting._

"_All_ the lands past the Border Divide?" Hitsugaya asked in amazement.

The messenger nodded solemnly. "We saw no reason why he would have been lying."

"I see. What became of this prisoner?"

"He is still being held captive in Atsuria."

"Is he showing no signs of deteriorating health?"

"A little. He was asked about this and he replied that all the men of the Arrancar army have a high tolerance for pain."

"Arrancar?" Hitsugaya frowned.

"Yes, that is the name he gave us. He said they are Aizen's personal army." The messenger replied.

"And they're over a million strong, under the command of one single man?" Hitsugaya asked disbelievingly. This Aizen person sure sounded sinister. But was this even believable? That one man had the control over a million infantry soldiers and he had the naval force to rival that of the entire Integrated Nations? It was absurd! But maybe it wasn't just that one man, this Sosuke Aizen, maybe it was a group of leaders. That was believable. The lands beyond the Border Divide were unknown. Their depths were foreboding and they stretched for at least a third of the planet's surface.

"Hai. The captive stated that he conquered all the lands beyond the Border Divide with that army and it continuously grows stronger. There is something unusual about them." The messenger, Tobi, said.

"And what's that?" The King asked curiously.

"Apparently, if a soldier wants to become an Arrancar, they have to go through a metamorphosis."

Hitsugaya frowned questioningly.

"Well, the one that we took in was wearing a scarf about his neck. When we removed that scarf, he had a hole there."

"What?" Hitsugaya asked, thoroughly confused.

"I know. We were shocked too." Tobi said with a sigh. "We didn't know what to make of it. The initial idea was to kill him because he could have been a spawn of the devil or something like that."

"I see. And this is the metamorphosis that they have to go through?"

"Yes, my Lord. They're not...alive...Apparently, to join the ranks of the Arrancar, you have to be dead."

"So, they're like, zombies, or something?" Hitsugaya asked, completely bewildered by this piece of news.

"Far more advanced than zombies, you're Majesty. They're able to feel pain and are far more intelligent than zombies, and they retain their human shape but they have a hole somewhere on their person."

"So, what can we do against such a phantom army?" Hitsugaya said thoughtfully.

There was silence as both the King and the messenger stared intently at the map, as if the answer might have been there.

They were interrupted from their thoughts by a knock at the door.

"Come in." Hitsugaya said.

The door opened. "Did I hear something about a ghost army?"

* * *

Karin waited anxiously the next day. Hitsugaya had called a meeting with the council and he was explaining the situation.

She'd been waiting in the drawing room for a good hour and a half when the door opened and Hitsugaya hastily came in. "Hey." He said softly.

"Hey," She said. She studied his expression so as to gauge how the meeting had gone. "Well?"

He smiled grimly as he settled beside her. "We go to war."

"...I see." She tried to make light of the situation but it was impossible. How could she possibly behave normally if the one she loved was going to go to war?

"Hey, don't worry so much..." Hitsugaya whispered as he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so that her eyes met his.

"How can you say that?" She asked softly, "you're going to go to war."

He leant closer to her and leant his forehead against hers. "Karin...please don't beat yourself up about this."

She could feel his breath on her cheek. This was how close she liked him to be, but if he was really going into war then they would be miles and miles apart! She couldn't handle that! "I've heard terrible stories of war..." She muttered. "About how it used to be, about how it's changed now..."

"Yes, war has changed. It's not the same as it used to be." He said solemnly. "It is much more horrible." He sighed as he thought back to what he'd heard of changing warfare. "There's no room for bravery anymore, you know. All you have to do is shoot. Ever since the construction of the machine gun, the idea of warfare has dispelled courage, which I think is a damn shame but...there ya go."

"So, you don't think it takes courage to lift up a gun or whatever and kill, just like that, to lodge a piece of metal in the body of a living person?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, since you put it like that..." He mumbled, "...But it's not real bravery, is it? To shoot. Even a coward could stand in a trench nowadays and fight in a war just as well as any brave soldier."

"Why are we even discussing war?" She demanded. "It's enough that you're going to be gone for god knows how long."

"You're right. I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"Don't be." She lifted a hand up and caressed his cheek. "You'll always be brave in my eyes, my King..."

He smiled at that and tilted his head to the side and gently pushed his lips against hers. "I'll be twice as brave now, my Queen..." He whispered in her ear.

"See to it that you shall..." She said softly. "And don't be reckless in your pursuit of heroism either. I want you to come back _whole_."

"Of course." He said quietly as he placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

_The meeting with the Council earlier:_

"My Lord, what is this rumour that we have heard?" One of the councillors said.

"Are we to go to war?" Another asked.

"Is this wise, my Lord?"

"What's this news of a phantom army?"

"Is there really such an army?"

Hitsugaya held his hands up and the questions gradually died down. "I have made my decision. Jushirou Ukitake was a good friend of my father's and Atsuria has always stood by us since my grandfather's time, _whenever_ we have been in trouble. Ukitake does not have the military strength to uphold his nation, not even with conscription of the civilians. This is our chance to show that we can return favours too."

"But, my Liege, the numbers that we heard were too much!" A councillor exclaimed. "Even we don't have that kind of military power! And what of these rumours of the ghost army?"

Hitsugaya sighed. "I am aware of that their numbers are great but we shall not be the only army present. If the messengers were correct, then other countries around Atsuria will come to help too. 

They can't risk ignoring this threat otherwise their own nations will be in danger too. And whatever kind of army it is that the enemy has, they must have a weakness somewhere. They may sound fantastical but everyone has a weak point and they're nowhere near immortal."

The council paused collectively. He was right. If they all united against this new force, then they'd stand a chance, otherwise all sorts of new threats could arise.

"But where did this new threat come from?" Another member of the council, an elderly male, asked in puzzlement.

"The enemy came from across the Great Border Divide." The Great Border Divide was the area in the map of the world that encompassed most of their continent and the one beside theirs. They called their alliance the "Integrated Nations". Atsuria was at the edge of that border so it was understandable why it was under threat; the forces that dwelled beyond the Border Divide were of no concern to the Integrated Nations so this message of war was completely out of the blue. The Integrated Nations hadn't seen real war in over half three quarters of a century.

There were various mumbles of understanding from across the chamber. "And how do we know that you won't just be sending men to their deaths needlessly?" An old man asked. "If the messengers are correct and our nation shall also be at risk after the war with Atsuria, then how do we know if it's wise to dispatch the men if we might be threatened later?"

The comment made Hitsugaya a little angry. The hand that he had been leaning on suddenly shot out and banged on the table in front of him, causing a loud _snap_ and startling more than just a few councillors. "We are not some shallow people that we ignore the needs of our allies." He said irritably. "Atsuria is a great friend to us and has not hesitated to come to our rescue in the past, am I right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "We are going to war and that is final." He stood up and left. The council members sighed collectively.

"My, my, he really does have his moments." Someone said a little mirthfully. The man stood up and went to stand where Hitsugaya had sat. "So, are we decided?" Urahara asked.

"Yes, Urahara." The council sighed again.

Urahara smiled. "Alright then, I'll go let him know. I suppose we should begin preparations immediately." He left the room and walked towards the retreating back to the King. "Hitsugaya-sama!" He called out.

Hitsugaya turned around at the sound of the man's voice and sighed. "What is it, Urahara?"

"The council has agreed that we go to war." The man said jovially.

"I've already decided that anyway." Hitsugaya said nonchalantly.

"You know you're not allowed to make important decisions on your own."  
"What am I, a child?" Hitsugaya snapped.

Urahara sighed. "No, my Lord, but it is rather hard for those old fogeys to take you seriously when you are just in your prime."

"Whatever. I'm going to my wife now. Start preparations." Hitsugaya said as he swept away down the corridor.

Urahara bowed and then straightened up to watch him go. "My, my, such terrible times..." He muttered. "Makes you wonder what's gonna happen..."

* * *

The next day, an assembly of the townspeople was announced. Newspapers came, the nobility came, and even some of the middle and lower classes came. It was mostly the city folk though. The event of war would be publicized and broadcast all across the land. This was an important affair.

"As you must have all heard by now, the decision to go to war has been finalised." Hitsugaya said from atop his podium in front of the gathered mass of people who sat before him. Ripples of uneasy murmurs were let loose across the audience. Hitsugaya held his hands up for hush. "I realise that this is sudden and for that I apologise."

"What's he doing?!" A council elder hissed to another. "Kings to not apologise to their subjects..." He trailed off as he caught Karin's eye. She shot him a glare and turned her attention back to Hitsugaya.

"...But understand that if we don't _immediately_ take action, our land will be in trouble. Better to act now than to rush about afterwards. Take my word for it; it benefits our land as well as Atsuria _now_."

"Does he have to be so...familiar?" The same old man from before said quietly.

For the duration of the meeting, Hitsugaya neglected to mention the rumours of the army. What was the use? People would just worry needlessly. They would win this war; he would make sure of that. Urahara had a plan, after all. Urahara's plans weren't exactly orthodox but they were efficient.

* * *

The focus of the story is not going to be on the Arrancar so much, just thought you should know. I only stuck that part in there to make the war stand out a little but the story's mostly going to be switching from Karin's situation to Hitsugaya's. There's going to be an excess amount of fluff in the first few chapters (considering that this is a war fic) and that's cuz there's gonna be a sizeable break between when Hitsugaya and Karin part to when they meet each other again.

Review, and gimme some ideas for little sub-branches of the story, if you like.

I realised the other day as I was reading through Part One of Shiderrera that I had such an awesome opportunity to make something happen between Ichigo and Orihime but I didn't do anything :( what a wasted opportunity.

I don't know when the next update's gonna be because I've hardly got chapter two sorted.


	24. Part II: Farewell

Hi, people! I'm really, REALLY sorry that this is taking so long but I'm currently working on three other fanfics (two of which are not released yet. By the way, one of them's a HitsuKarin AU and I hope to get it up soon) and I should be working on Beloved too but...damn! I mean, my attention gets caught in the happenings of one story and the others are forgotten. But I'll try to pay more attention to the rest of my fanfics equally, so as to satisfy all my readers. Once again, I am really sorry.

I'll try to get the next chapter up soon but I don't know when "soon" is so just bear with me. You guys have probably forgotten what happened in the last chapter anyway, right?

I don't own Bleach.

* * *

There was a knock at the door of the Kurosaki residence. A servant went to open it and his mouth hung open in surprise. He was one of the older servants of the Kurosaki family so he knew the man who stood on the doorstep.

"Good afternoon!" Urahara said jovially.

"U-Urahara-san!" The servant exclaimed. He immediately bowed.

"Is the master of the house in?" Urahara asked with a big grin.

"O-Of course!" The servant offered another small bow and retreated into the house. "Ichigo-sama! You have a visitor!"

The door to the drawing room opened and two orange heads popped out, the smaller one above the bigger one. "Who is it, Terazawa?" He asked. He paused when he saw his visitor standing outside the open door. "Urahara-san?!" He exclaimed.

"Urahara-san?!" The head above Ichigo's imitated with perfect accuracy.

"Oi, quiet you." Ichigo said, tilting his head back to look up at the little girl who sat on his shoulders.

The little girl merely grinned down at him and banged her hands joyfully on his head. "You're funny, daddy!"

A vein popped in Ichigo's forehead as he strode forward to go and meet the man who was watching patiently. He lifted the little girl off his shoulders and set her down on the ground, amid her protests. "Daddy, no! I wanna sit up there!" She wailed, clinging on to his leg.

Urahara grinned behind his fan, which had seemingly magically appeared. "Enjoying fatherhood I see, Kurosaki-san?" He said mirthfully.

"Shut up." Ichigo grumbled as he tried to shake the little two year old girl off his leg. "Hisana, go to yer mom!" He said in exasperation.

"But, daddy...!" She protested.

He held his arms out with a resigned sigh and the girl happily jumped up into them. "Right, Urahara-san, were you here for something?" He asked, settling the little girl securely on his right forearm as she clutched his neck tightly.

"If we could walk around, there are some matters I wish to discuss." The blond haired man said seriously.

"Lemme guess, it has something to do with the war, right?" Ichigo said a little sarcastically.

"In a manner of speaking."

"Daddy, what's war mean?" Hisana asked.

"I'll tell you later, okay?" He said softly. "I want you to go inside now, please?" He looked at her meaningfully.

She deliberated on it awhile and then smiled, earning one in response, "Hai, Otou-san." Ichigo put her down and gently pushed her towards the drawing room. "Tell your mom I stepped out for a bit, okay?" She nodded and ran off.

Ichigo straightened up and faced Urahara. "Let's walk." He stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him.

"Of course." They began walking about the estate, towards the back of the house and the gardens. There was silence for a while. Urahara gazed down at the ground beneath his feet, looking thoughtful. Ichigo sneaked a look at him every now and then, trying to gauge what the man was thinking about but, just as Ichigo remembered from his youth, the expression was unreadable. What was Urahara doing here all of the sudden anyway? He hadn't stepped foot in the Kurosaki family home in almost ten years. And why was it that he didn't look a day older than when Ichigo had first met him? From the incident at Karin's wedding three years ago, Ichigo knew Urahara was into the forbidden arts. Maybe it had something to do with that?

"So, you gon talk or what?" Ichigo grumbled.

Urahara turned his head around to face the younger man and smiled a little sadly. "I never did congratulate you on getting married, did I, Ichi-chan?"

A vein popped in Ichigo's forehead. "Don't call me that! I'm not seven-years-old anymore, you know."

"Heh, still sore about the name?" The blond man said with a small chuckle.

"_Yo, Kisuke." Isshin Kurosaki put his hand up to do a wave as he ushered his son into the dojo before him._

_Urahara came over from the class that he'd been looking over. They were all currently practicing bringing their guard up. They were mostly little kids no more than ten years old. The young Ichigo looked around in awe._

_Urahara stopped before the two new arrivals. "It's been a long time, Isshin." He said with a broad grin. "How's the family?"_

_Isshin smiled. "It's good."_

_Urahara looked down at the little bright-haired boy who was looking around the dojo. "Is this your son?"_

"_Yeah, his name is Ichigo. I was hoping to get him started here, if ya don't mind." Isshin replied._

_Urahara bent down so that his head was level with Ichigo's. "Hello, Ichi-chan."_

_Ichigo scowled and immediately kicked the man in between the legs. "That's Ichigo, and don't you forget it!" He said as the teacher keeled over a little, clenching his jaw tightly. _

_Isshin laughed. "That's the reason why I wanted to get him in here. He has a lot of anger in him."  
"I can't imagine why one would think so..." Urahara muttered in a strained voice._

"_He didn't hit you too hard, did he?" Isshin asked, trying to be serious but not quite managing to get there. He ruffled his son's hair and grinned._

"Just bear in mind what happened the first time you called me that." Ichigo growled.

"Heh heh, you always were aggressive." Urahara smirked. "You still are."

"Shut up!" The younger of the two snapped. "I probably wouldn't have been this bad if you'd taught me like any other kid at the damn dojo!"

Urahara narrowed his eyes. "Would you seriously have wanted that, though? You did enjoy the training."

"Huh." Ichigo turned his head away. "So what?"

"Ah, you just admitted it!"

"I didn't admit nothin!"

"Eh?" Question marks appeared around Urahara's head. "That means you admitted _something_."

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped. "What d'ya want anyway?"

The blond man sighed. "As you guessed before, I came to see you in regards to the war. I was wondering if you'd care to join."  
Ichigo stared at him with a frown. "Dude, we have a military, why can't they take care of it?"

"But strength like yours is what we need, Kurosaki-san. I'm going to tell you something about this upcoming war."

"But, wait a minute," Ichigo said, "I can't become a soldier just like that, right? There's all sorts of details that need to be looked over and it's going to take time."

"Time is one thing we don't have but don't worry about it. I can get you sorted."

"I haven't said I've agreed yet!" The young man snapped. "Don't go sayin stuff like that!"

Urahara sighed deeply. "Sorry. Well, I'll tell you about what we're facin then you can decide for yourself if you want to go..."

* * *

Hitsugaya opened the door to his bedroom to find that Karin was already sitting in bed, reading. Without looking up from the book, she asked, "Where were you? I haven't seen you all day and you weren't at dinner."

He went to sit down on the bed and took his shoes and socks off. "The upcoming war is keepin everyone busy." He pushed his shoes to the side and stood up again.

"Uh-huh, you could have dropped by at least once in the day," She said, still looking down at her book. She moistened the end of her index finger and turned the page.

"It's really creepy when you do that, ya know." He sighed.  
"Do what?" She asked, still looking down at the book.

"The way you can concentrate on what you're readin an hold a conversation at the same time. It reminds me of Okaa-sama." He shuddered a little. His mother was one scary individual.

"Yeah, well, if I spend all my time around the Queen Mother then I'm bound to pick up some things aren't I?" She finally looked up from the book and smiled up at him. Hitsugaya smiled back as he got out his nightclothes and began to get changed. He'd barely removed his shirt before he paused because Karin was ogling. "Gee, can you stop doing that?" He rolled his eyes. "We've been married three years, how many times are you gonna gawk?"

She clamped her jaw shut and cleared her throat. "What? It's not my fault you have a nice physique."

"Oh?" He went to stand next to her side of the bed and bent down, supporting himself by placing a fist on the soft bedding on her other side. She smiled a little and put her book down and placed her hands on his bare shoulders. "You know, we have yet to produce an heir." He said with amusement.

"Hmm?" She pulled him down and he swung his left leg over both hers above the covers and sat astride her. His arms wound about her waist. "Do you want to try for an heir?" She asked softly.

His eyes suddenly took on a quality of sadness and he looked away. "A war is coming, Karin, and war is unpredictable. If I don't make..."

"Hey!" She said sharply, guessing what he was driving at. "I don't wanna hear that kinda thing!"

He sighed. "I'm sorry...my Queen...But sometimes we have to face facts."

"Please don't..." She muttered, leaning her head against his bare shoulder.

"Come on, Karin, it's a possibility." He said gently. He leant away from her and pulled her back by caressed her face with both his hands and forced her to look into his eyes. "I don't want to think about it either but this is war. I might not make it to see the whole thing through to the end." She closed her eyes tightly to ward off the moisture gathering there. She shook her head in his grasp and took his hands within her own and pulled them down to rest upon her lap. "I might die."

"Don't ever say things like that, please," she whispered pleadingly. The thought of him...dying was an unthinkable one. She knew he wasn't immortal but for her, that would be the kind of status that he would always hold. The thought of her King dying was shocking...somewhat unreal. He was always there at the right times, he always knew what to do, he always knew what to say to make her feel better. He was her King, her husband. He was legend...to her and legends were supposed to live forever.

He closed his eyes and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You're not a child, Karin. You should be able to accept that people die. It's a fact of life."

She sighed, suddenly gruff, "You want me to explain?" It came out a lot sharper than she'd meant it to, almost cutting. She didn't wait for him to respond though. "I've gotten more closer to you than I've ever been with anyone. I fell in love with you. I can't bear the thought that your time will come before mine cuz I'm weak an I won't be able to hack that sorta pain so, for that reason, I don't ever want to hear you say things like "I might die". I know you're going to die one day because that is the eventuality of all people but for you, I can't think about you going off before me."

She looked down at their entwined hands in her lap, aware that perhaps her little rant had been pathetic but it was true nevertheless. She'd never contemplated the possibility that Hitsugaya might die before she did. How were you supposed to act if the one you loved, the one who meant the most to you over everything in the world, the one who held for you as much reverence as the sun that brightened your day or the moon that shone brilliantly at night, were to suddenly pass on? She was aware in some part of her being that it was absolutely ridiculous; people died everyday and there wasn't a thing you could do about it except move on. That was how life worked. You couldn't dwell on it.

She'd lost her parents already. She hadn't been old enough to remember what she'd done after her mother died but after the death of Isshin, when she was sure that there was no one watching, she'd cry her heart out, and then, every night, she'd cry herself to sleep. That had been when she'd moved out of Yuzu's room and gotten her own bedroom back at the Kurosaki house. But it had been pathetic for her, who had vowed never to cry, to be in hysterics all the time. But what would she do if Hitsugaya were to suddenly meet his end?

She'd go _insane_.

He smiled grimly and placed a hand beneath her chin and tilted her head back. "You're being extraordinarily selfish, you know that?" His hand went to rest against the side of her cheek and he ran his thumb soothingly over her skin. "Did you ever wonder what would happen to me if you suddenly died? Your parents have both passed on and I still have a mother but I'm still more shaken up inside than you are. Tell me who the weaker one is." His blue-green eyes gazed unblinkingly into hers.

She sighed deeply and looked forlornly at him. "How the hell did this turn into the hot topic of death? I hate this."

He grinned and wrapped both his arms about her waist again. He brushed a stray strand of black hair back from her forehead and placed a kiss on it. "Ok, no more talk of death," he promised before brushing his lips down her cheek to alight upon her mouth. There, he slowly, tenderly kissed her, closing his eyes and bringing one hand up to plant it firmly amid the black tresses at the back of her head, as if to halt any progress that she may make away from him. Her arms wound about his shoulders and she lifted her legs out from under him and rose up on her knees to get more level with him and pressed her lips against his more comfortably, driving him back with all her might. He let himself fall back onto the bed, taking her with him. The kiss broke upon the soft contact with the silken bedcovers but resumed immediately thereafter. His hands roamed up and down her back as he kept her pressed against him and then they went to rest upon the zipper of her nightdress and he pulled it down to reveal the smooth flesh underneath. He bunched the garment up and then began to pull it over her head. She relented and lifted her arms up and helped him pull it off and then bent down to him again, seeking his lips with her own.

* * *

A full week after the messengers arrived in Hitsugaya's country and delivered the message of war, the nation was prepared to go to the battlefield. Ships upon ships stood in the harbour and an endless tide of soldiers marched into them. People from all over the country had come to see their king off. They still couldn't believe he was going to go. His courageousness elevated his position among the citizens considerably.

The King himself was smoothing things out with his advisors and many of his cousins and relatives from across the country had come to wish him luck in the battlefield. He nodded grimly in response. Beside him, Karin stood anxiously, worry etched into every part of her face.

The whole thing lasted for a good two hours before Hitsugaya decided that it was time to be off. He'd been holding onto Karin's hand the entire time and he finally turned to face her and smiled. "Don't worry about me, okay?" He muttered, putting a hand up to her cheek and affectionately rubbing his thumb across her skin.

"How can I not?" She whispered gloomily. He sighed and leant close and pressed his lips to hers. "Dude, half the nation's here." She mumbled, keeping her gaze fixed steadily on his eyes. He smiled and raised an eyebrow. "So what? If they're starin, then let em. I love you."

She took his face in both her hands and leant her forehead against his. "I love you more than you could ever imagine. Please return safely, my King."

"I shall, in all by best, obey you, my Queen." He kissed her again, slowly, lingeringly.

Practically all the women who saw the couple dabbed at their eyes and even some of the men gazed with affection at their monarchs. It was so sad. Who knew what would happen in the war. What if the King didn't come home? Everyone knew how firmly and truly the King and Queen loved one another; it was apparent all the time. The Queen would be broken if her husband didn't return. At this moment in time, she was the representation of the country's women, whose husbands, brothers or sons were going off to war. As sweet as the little kissing scene looked, it was still upsetting because everybody was acknowledging that there was going to be a change and it would not be in the least bit positive.

"Hai, hai, move along now!" Urahara practically walked between the kissing couple, clapping his hands to get their attention. Hitsugaya and Karin shot simultaneous glares into his back. Even everybody else who had been watching the couple with adoration frowned at the blonde man; what was his problem? The King was going off to war so why not let him have a moment with his wife? "Whoa, I feel a lotta hostility," Urahara said to himself. He turned around and the glares that were being directed at him deepened. He grinned. "Come on, Hitsugaya-sama, the battlefield won't wait just because you had to kiss your wife goodbye."

"You insolent little..." Hitsugaya muttered dangerously as veins popped in his face.

"Calm down, Shirou-kun." Karin sighed and placed a last kiss on his cheek. "Be sure to write whenever you have the chance."

"Of course." He turned to smile at her and she smiled back but it vanished soon enough. "Can I go with you?" She asked hoarsely.

"As if I would willingly let you go to the battlefield." He tutted. He hesitantly turned around to face the ramp leading up to the entrance of the ship.

Karin hugged her arms across her chest tightly, barely restraining herself as the desire to follow him up the ramp tore at her insides. Would it be so bad to go to the battlefield with him? At least, that way, if something did happen to him, she'd share his pain because she'd be right next to him. She couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him.

He paused when he got to the top of the ramp and waved to all his subjects and, lastly, his wife. He looked at her a long moment before turning away and she could feel tears gathering at her eyelids but she shut them tightly. The crowds were going wild as they all cheered on their King and the brave soldiers going abroad, though all weren't _all_ happy at the circumstances. Karin barely heard them; she was hugging herself so tightly. _Why must this pain be so unbearable?_ She asked herself.

After fifteen minutes of standing at the water's edge and watching the ships all drift farther across the wide expanse of the sea, she finally turned around. Her face was blank.

"My Queen, is there anything we can do?" One of the servants asked.

"Yeah," she said flatly, "leave me alone." As she got some ways towards the crowd of people, someone came running up to her and wrapped their arms about her shoulders. "Karin-chan," Yuzu sobbed.

"Hey, Yuzu." Karin said softly. She patted her sister on the back. Her husband, Jinta Hanakari (one of Urahara's minions, strangely), was also aboard one of the ships. Apparently, Urahara had ordered him to go to the war. All of Urahara's subordinates (the three who had shown up after Karin's wedding three years ago) had experience and understanding of the military and they could operate any kind of weapons so they were accepted into the ranks. And, at this moment, the nation needed as many numbers as possible. Ichigo had gone too. Apparently, Urahara had talked him into it. At this moment in time, Karin wished the man had just stayed a bygone memory and not turned up that week before her wedding.

* * *

If anyone's bothered about the sometimes fanciful language that I occasionally use, blame it on Shakespeare. In the past two chapters, there were two lines which were unmistakeably Shakespearean. I'll let you figure out which ones :D


	25. Part II: Letter from the Frontline

From now on, I shall try to update every week, regularly. I'm sorry this is taking so long but, lately, the creative juices have flowing TOO quickly. I'm getting more and more ideas for different fanfics (and most of them are HitsuKarin) and I have the sudden urge to write those instead of continuing with the ones that I'm already working on. At the moment, I have ideas for about four Hitsukarin stories (excluding Shinderrera and Beloved) and about four other HitsugayaOC ones. Damn...I almost feel sorry for myself. I wish I had, like, ten brains and fifty pairs of hands and a hundred laptops but that ain't gonna happen :( Oh well, I hope you like this update!

* * *

The nation was awash with news from the frontline every day. Everybody was happy. Karin couldn't stand it. How could they be happy? Their soldiers were out there, killing and being killed. Did these people not have hearts? Their _King_ was amid it all.

They felt pride at that. It bothered Karin to no end. When someone asked her cheerily what she thought on the whole war thing, she had to put all her effort into not killing that person with her bare hands. She hated this. She couldn't stand it. She wanted Hitsugaya home, beside her, telling her the unwanted titbits of information that came with ruling a country. It was driving her insane. And she had to wait quite a while before she heard from him again.

A few months passed by before she got her first letter from the King. Orihime was tending to her at breakfast and Karin had, like every single day as of the last three months, been staring unseeingly into her bowl as she ate.

"Ano, Karin-san," Orihime began cheerily, "there's been a lot of mail from the frontline today. Apparently, it's been very quiet in some parts recently. Uryu-kun wrote to me yesterday." She smiled widely.

Karin frowned up at the maid. "Uryu? I didn't know he was in the military. I thought he was a doctor like Ichi-Nii?" Uryu Ishida was Orihime's husband of two and a half years. He was the son of Ryuken Ishida, who had been Karin's father's rival. Ryuken was getting old so he'd relinquished the ownership of his hospital to his son while Ichigo had taken over his father's Clinic. The two sons, though always competitive in nature and sworn rivals like their fathers, did manage to get along well if the occasion called for it.

Orihime smiled a little sadly. "Apparently, before Otou-sama," she said, referring to her father-in-law, "opened the hospital, he used to be in the military. He was a soldier but also a medic and then he gave up on the army and started his own business. As your father had Kurosaki-san train in combat from a young age, Uryu-san's father had him train like a soldier too so he volunteered." The smile slipped off and, for just a second, she lost her composure and her features screwed up in an expression of sorrow. But then she pulled herself together again and smiled shakily. "Apparently, some mail has come for you."

"Mail?" Karin started slowly, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "From whom?"

"Hitsugaya-sama..." Orihime had scarcely finished speaking before Karin bolted from the room. The maid sighed wearily.

Karin was so worried about the king. Of course, she had every reason to be but all she did was sit in the drawing room and stare out of the window each day. If it was raining, she went outside and took a walk in the gardens. The dim, overcast days really matched her mood.

When she'd managed to get a hold of her letter, Karin opened it with shaky fingers. She gave herself a paper cut in her haste but she didn't care.

_My dearest Queen,_

_I suppose I should say something about the state of things but I know how it bores you so I shan't mention it._

She smiled at that. She didn't particularly enjoy it when he went off into lectures about how the state was doing.

_What can I say? I know it's been a while but war does not allow one to sit around idle. We've been very busy so I had little time to myself but I never stop thinking of you. _

_The food here is terrible, the living conditions are despicable, and the entertainment is atrocious. By entertainment, I mean lifting up a gun and shooting across no-man's-land to the bobbing heads that we can see through the wire fences. Oops, I mentioned the state of the war. I sincerely apologise._

_I hope you are in the best of health and you are looking after Okaa-sama. I miss you terribly. It is torture without you by my side. Every morning, I reach my arms out to pull you against me but my hands merely pass through empty space. You do not know how heartbreaking that is for me. If I _

_could somehow utilise all my desperation and loneliness without you, I am fairly sure I could win the war in ten seconds flat and without a glitch._

She laughed aloud at that, but it was such a desolate sound that she stopped immediately. It wasn't even funny.

_By the way, did anything become of our "night of producing an heir"? Well, you know, things might not turn out the way we want them to so we have to be prepared._

_You don't have to reply. I am not entirely sure when we shall all be free next. We advance on through the trenches. I've chosen to move things along a little._

_You know I said the entertainment is atrocious? Urahara's annoying as always and I wish ever so much to rip his guts out and feed them to the Arrancar but he's our best strategist. But it doesn't stop him being the pinnacle of all things horrendous and irksome, though. I wish I could kill him. His sense of humour is worse than mine. His idea of a joke is to cut up a rat into tiny little pieces and stick it in my boots._

_That reminds me, have you ever tasted rat? We were getting rather low on meat and there are plenty of those vermin running around in the dugouts so we skinned one and put it to roast. It wasn't too bad, in actuality; tastes rather like chicken._

Karin's lip curled back in disgust. _Eating rat?!_ She thought, disgruntled. _See if I ever kiss that bugger again._

_And now, my sweet, I shall have to say goodbye for some time. Please do not be too upset on my account. We're akin to family here and, truth be told, I do not mind it all that much. The company of the guys makes it a little more bearable. Please do not worry about me. I'm a big boy, you know, some even call me the ruler of a nation. Isn't that just amazing?_

_Yours for all eternity,_

_Toushirou Hitsugaya_

_PS I love you. And please don't do anything rash while I'm not there. I'll find out, you know. Being a king really has its advantages._

She reread it many times. His attitude on paper was far different that when someone met him face-to-face. It was one of the many things about him that Karin couldn't help marvelling at. In nature, he was reclusive but his written word revealed a far more...subtle side. This side wasn't often exhibited, though. If he tried, he could be poetic, he could be romantic. But that just came out when he revealed that far too elegant script of his. In comparison to his neat handwriting, Karin's writing was far too horrible and scruffy.

She looked over the letter again and paused to frown at the last line. What did he mean, "don't do anything rash"? She wasn't a child! Did he mean to imply that she couldn't look after herself? _Asshole_, she thought sourly. But her scowl softened when she reread the letter again and remembered just how long it'd been since she last saw him.

_I love you too, Shirou-kun_, she thought sadly._ Please survive and come back to me_.

She longed so much to hear his voice, to feel his arms about her, his hand in hers, the feel of his lips, hear him muttering something ludicrous as he dreamt, to see the peaceful expression on his face as he slept, his chest gently rising and falling. She missed the way he made her feel; like she really was a queen. Well, she was a queen but he made it seem so much more than just a title. She was _his_ queen. If she ever asked him to bow down to her (in all seriousness), then he would do it without question. If she wanted something..._anything_...he'd go and get it for her and he'd do it with his own hands instead of having a servant fetch it. He was the only person who made her feel special in such a way. He was special. He was hers. He was her everything.

_I miss you so much_.

She went up to her room and got out some paper and ink and began to write a reply, using the address that he'd wrote at the bottom of his message.

* * *

_Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!_

"Cover! COVER! _TAKE COVER_!"

The shouts for the men to take cover were drowned out by the stuttering of the machine guns.

Chaos reigned. Men were running about the trenches, shouting orders to lesser officers at the top of their lungs. Some got shot and screeched in pain before falling back to the floor of the trench, where they writhed and clutched at their cheeks, eyes, ears, noses...And then they screamed out again as terrified soldiers ran over them, their boots thudding down unseeingly on the fallen officers. It was absolute anarchy.

And then a bomb sailed down.

_BOOM!_

The officers ducked out of the way but not all of them made it. The screams that arose after that were not only coming from those severely hurt but also those who got trapped beneath comrades whose bodies were half blown off and blood was gushing out of them. One man was having violent spasms as he tried to remove his friend's disembodied eyeball from where it had landed on his neck.

Men saw lifelong friends get torn to bits and their blood mixed in with the mud of the trench floor, turning it an odd earthy-red. Some men were vomiting violently, sounding as if they were trying up cough up their very guts.

Everywhere, there was not a speck of order at all.

And then there was silence. Presumably, the orders from the other side to launch attacks had ceased.

The soldiers all held their breath, afraid that the pause was deliberate and set to fool them. They waited perhaps ten minutes before they lowered their guns. The luckier officers crept out from behind upturned mounds of dirt from the trench floor and stared solemnly at the mess. Some were trembling while others, trying to be professional and organised, started to clear up the mess. But nobody was fooled. They were all scared stiff. This was war.

* * *

"Ah, Hitsugaya-sama!" Urahara said jovially.

Hitsugaya turned to stare at the man as he bounced happily down the stairs and into the dugout. He looked suspiciously happy. "What is it?" Hitsugaya grunted.

"The majors have invited you down to HQ for dinner tonight!" Urahara beamed.

Hitsugaya snorted. "I'd rather die before I socialise with those fatties."

"You know, all the soldiers hate the majors but you're the King so do try to look like you're interested." The blond man sighed deeply.

"And for what? So that they can convince me to stay well away from the frontline too, like them, and stuff my face full of chicken and...and other _fatty foods_ while there're soldiers dying out in the battlefields?!" The king spat. The majors all disgusted him. How could they call themselves soldiers when all they did was complain about how their cosy hot chocolates had flies in them when young men from their country were out there getting their own blood spilt for the sake of peace? It infuriated him to no end. That was why he tried to go down to HQ as seldom as possible. He hated it there. The last time he'd gone, the major and his second-in-command had actually been discussing a local magazine that they had subscribed to.

"Ok, I guess I'll be going in your stead once more?" Urahara sighed again.

"Do whatever the hell you want." Hitsugaya replied blankly.

"You know, I swear your liking for me has really gone down ever since the war started." The older of the two mused. He chuckled as he stepped quickly to the right, avoiding a small dagger that planted itself into the wooden frame of the dugout. "Temper, temper, your Highness," he tutted.

"_Shut up_." Hitsugaya growled.

"You know, the men are still talkin about how admirable you are for fighting among the common soldiers."

Hitsugaya scoffed. "Where else am I supposed to fight, among the majors of this battalion?" He snorted with a mirthless laugh.

"Psychotic..." Urahara muttered as he climbed back up the stairs.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Hitsugaya snapped.

He didn't get a response. He sighed and went back to looking over the map on the table before him and tried to figure out more strategies. It would have helped if Urahara had stayed down here too but the man was so infuriating. He didn't take the war seriously at all. It was bothersome.

"Damn it..." He muttered as he sat back and ran a hand through his white hair. He wished he could see Karin again. She'd probably know what to do to cheer him up a little. He didn't smile often in the presence of others but the happiness just came to the fore of its own accord when he was with his wife. At least when Karin was around, he could spare a smile every now and then but he'd not smiled _once_ since he'd set off from home to join this war.

* * *

"Are we all set?" Hitsugaya asked as he paced about his dugout, before his officers.

"Hai, Hitsugaya-sama!" The men chorused. Urahara was unusually silent and sombre. He usually was when there was an important mission to carry out.

"Good." The King stopped pacing and stood before the men with his legs spread wide apart and his hands folded behind his back. He scrutinised the stoic faces of the young men. The majority of them couldn't really be any older than he was. One looked to be just eighteen and another was probably in his thirties. He felt a twinge. They put the blank expressions on because they didn't want their king to see how scared they really were but he could practically feel it. They would attempt something very dangerous tonight.

From their platoon, one or two squads would create a diversion (using the machine guns and other necessities to get the attention of the enemy) while a few select men would sneak through the wire fences and try to take a captive from the Arrancar. Even one would be enough. Nothing was happening at the moment so the orders (which were not actually _all_ from the King) were to try to get some answers from the enemy. It was all they could do at the moment. It would be extremely dangerous.

Hitsugaya had wanted to be the one to go but Urahara had stopped him, reasoning that the men needed their king alive and well and they couldn't afford to lose him at this point. Hitsugaya had been fairly adamant about going but Urahara was _very_ persistent. In the end, the King had settled for instigating the diversion.

"You all know what to do?" He asked.

"Hai!"

"2200 hours." He reminded. He checked his watch. "That gives us fifteen minutes. Assume positions!"

"Hai!" There was the sound of stomping as all the men gathered in the small, connected dugouts began to get themselves ready, fixing their breeches if they needed fixing, securing their boots, straightening up their tunics and readying their rifles and bombs and whatnot. The wire fences were secured in some places and loosened in others.

Fifteen minutes later, gunfire sounded from Hitsugaya's side of the trenches, shooting across no-man's-land. Instantly, the Arrancar were on alert. They began to shoot back almost immediately. From then on, it was all chaos. Smoke bombs were shot to obscure the enemy's view and the barrage of gunfire continued. Amid it all, five men climbed beneath the wire and crawled across the not-too-far distance to the enemy's trench.

On the other side, in the Arrancar trench, Captain Ulqiourra Schiffer narrowed his eyes as the smoke bombs went off. He had a very quick mind.

"It's a diversion." He said. His voice wasn't loud but it carried across to the men, who immediately stopped shooting and turned to look at him. Ulqiourra wasn't the type who fought unnecessarily but that didn't mean he didn't fight at all. He liked to apply his intellect in all situations rather than use his strength, though he had plenty of it. He wasn't burly but he was strong. The men feared and revered him. He was one of Aizen's right-hand men. "Fall back. Cover the defences."

"Hai!" All his officers said in unison as they lowered their rifles and fanned out to watch over the mouth of the trench, ducking down to avoid the enemy fire.

Back at Hitsugaya's side, Urahara was also planning. He noted that the gunfire from the other side had ceased. That could only mean one thing; they were waiting to ambush the soldiers who had gone over. "Shit..." He turned around and walked through the mass of gathered soldiers and went to seek out the King. "Hitsugaya-sama." He said as soon as he appeared behind the younger man.

Hitsugaya had also stopped shooting, having come to the same conclusion as his strategist. "What is it?" He asked as he turned to face the blond man.

"Ambush." Urahara said grimly. Hitsugaya nodded in agreement and then grit his teeth and raised his rifle again and began shooting. What could he do now? His men would probably be more than halfway across no-man's-land by now. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't call them back. He'd just sent five men to their deaths and he didn't feel particularly good about it.

But this was war. People died who didn't deserve to die and diabolical monsters hid among men, grinning as they took more lives. There was no glory in war, contrary to the popular belief. There was no valour. It was just mass murder.

Oh well, they'd be sure to lessen the enemy's number by a few, at the least. But the Arrancar were supposed to be hardy; they weren't invincible but whereas a human took only one bullet to the vital organs to die, it took at least five in the same area for an Arrancar to get killed. That was something they'd all learnt from the last hostage they'd taken.

* * *

"Is he alright?" The sergeant asked quietly.

"He'll be fine." Urahara mumbled back. "Last night's escapade really got him down."

The sergeant's eyes, for all of two seconds, became clouded with misery as he shared his king's pain. He'd personally known two of the lads who had been killed last night. They both became soldiers the same time that he did. But the misery instantly cleared when he reminded himself that he didn't have the time or the patience to mourn. People died in war. It was a fact; those who got killed should be held in reverence, even if they were your old friends. "Hai." The sergeant bowed and turned around and started up the stairs of the dugout, leaving the King with his old teacher.

"Milord," the blond man said as he approached Hitsugaya, "there's something here for you."

Hitsugaya took his head out of his hands and looked up at the man pokerfaced. "What is it?" He asked blankly.

Urahara smiled and held out a letter with an airmail envelope. Hitsugaya frowned and took it and tore it open. He seemed to freeze for a while. Urahara watched with interest as the stoic expression on the white-haired man's face melted into a tiny smile. He turned around after a mere second and left the dugout, leaving the King to read in private.

Hitsugaya barely noticed. He was engrossed in what the letter said.

_To my dear husband and King_.

_If that rat thing was a joke, then your sense of humour is worse than I thought. Please tell me it's not true. I can feel bile rising in my throat at the idea. It's sick._

_Anyway, do tell Urahara to shut the hell up otherwise he'll have to deal with me. I can't even imagine what it must be like to have that idiot there all the time. Just give him a good solid punch and he should shut up. Well, you know how it is; old, faulty goods just need one good thump to get running straight again. And as for him being the best strategist, well, I think that's just bull cuz you're the _

_smartest person that I have ever met. You could outwit anybody. I'd bet Urahara's a dimwit compared to you._

_There's so much I want to say! I don't know where to begin! I guess I should start with how are you? What's it really like over there? How's the war going? Can I please come down there? It's been so long. I miss you so much. Okaa-sama's fine and so is everyone else...aside from me. I don't like it here when you're away. Everything seems dull and boring and it seems like it is forever rainy here now. Please come back soon. I know the people here may be happy that they have such a courageous king but I'd rather you were a coward so you wouldn't ever leave me. The palace seems so small without your presence. You don't understand just how much you brighten up my world. Everything's bleak and colourless without you here. Come back to me soon. We still don't have an heir. Who's going to succeed you if something happens? Make sure you stay alive, okay? For my sake. I can't even begin to stress how much I need you here._

_Please write soon. Even hearing one word from you brightens up my day considerably. The news from the frontline by others is biased. I can't know for sure if you're doing okay. I need reassurances, my King, and I don't have nearly enough of them. I have terrible dreams that I can't bear thinking about when I'm awake but the suspicion is always there that something might happen to you and I won't hear about it. Please don't ever leave me behind. I couldn't stand it._

_Infinitely yours,_

_Karin Hitsugaya_

He read it over and over again. This was unlike Karin; she wasn't the type to reveal her inner feelings and thoughts so easily but he supposed she was like him in that sense. He could convey on paper quite easily what he could not by word of mouth. Writing was easier than speaking when it came to thoughts and ideas and emotions. Paper was more ideal. But he never had problems talking to Karin about how he felt and if something was bothering Karin, then he could effortlessly make her talk to him where no one else could. It was one of the many things that made their relationship so special and it was one of the things that he humbly thanked the lord for in being married to her and no one else. They had a unique bond and no one else could understand them.

But what was this? She was having bad dreams? That bothered him extremely. She wasn't usually the type that had nightmares; she was such a strong force of nature that nightmares probably ran away from _her_. She was unshakable so that must mean that the whole war was getting to her more than he'd thought. He couldn't stand the thought of her being in any kind of pain but what could he do? He wanted nothing more to go home and take her into his arms but he was a king; he had a duty to fulfil. He had a war to win.

He could only hope that her strong resolution and her faith in him didn't waver. He needed her trust in him. It didn't matter if she was miles and miles and miles away. He had to be able to tell that she was still rooting for him. She had to be; otherwise he probably wouldn't have the endurance to sit in a dugout, day in day out, drawing up strategies and moving his soldiers like the chess pieces across the board that was war. Ironically enough, Karin was probably, in mentality, stronger than any of the soldiers who were currently on the battlefield, just like her chess-piece-likeness was the most powerful in the game.

He sighed wearily and folded the letter and put it away. He'd write a reply later, after he'd done some more strategic planning for his troops.

* * *

Oh yeah, Tomoyo-chan, sorry about all the "my King" and "my queen" thingy. I just thought it'd show their affections a little bit more. I couldn't resist a spot of romanticising :) cuz as opposed to being the king and queen of a nation, they actually let the other rule over them, if ya get ma meaning but I'll try an lessen it down. Anyway, I dare say there won't really be any space for such terms of address in the coming chapters...hmmm...Addressing all peoples: if ya don't like graphic gory scenes, I suggest you stop reading :p you should know by now that I've a slightly morbid sense of humour -evil grin-

And Yonne1104, I have no inetention of making her evil! :O -shocked that someone would even consider such a thing-


	26. Part II: Your Soldiers Need You

There's no Hitsugaya in this! It's just Karin and leads up to what she'll be doing in the upcoming chapters. Please do tell me if you think I'm even close to portraying the reality of war. I'm inexperienced but I'm trying to convey feelings of being in situations that I will never ever (hopefully) be in. I'll leave it up to you to decide if I've made a good job of it or not. War's not supposed to be a walk in the park, I guess you could say, and I hope to portray that.

Oh, and if anyone has a situation that they think would fit in with this, to lengthen the story a little, please do tell me. And I'm itchin to lighten the atmosphere a little but so far, I've had no reason to. It's all very gloomy, don'tcha think? I like to add a little bit of comic relief every once in a while. :(

* * *

Karin grew impatient each day. She was anxious to get a reply to her letter. It had already been eight days. Time dragged by without Hitsugaya there but she put up with it because she knew he'd write back sooner or later. He was probably just busy. Soldiers didn't sit in the same trench for days on end; they had to move around and if there was any activity then they couldn't afford to lose time over something as stupid as writing letters to their loved ones. She sneered at the thought.

She'd been down to see her sister-in-law too. Rukia, though she bore it well, couldn't stand this either. Ichigo had gone off to war and he'd left her behind. She was heartbroken about it. If Karin wasn't as adept as she was at "reading" people, she wouldn't have thought that anything was up with the petite woman. It was just the long sighs and the faraway eyes that had given her away. She wasn't _there_; she was off in Atsuria, fighting alongside her husband. That was where she'd have liked to be. That was where Karin would have liked to be too but women weren't allowed to go to the battlefield.

Hisana, Karin's niece, missed Ichigo too. Apparently, he was her _fifth_ favourite person after herself, mommy, Aunt Yuzu, and Aunt Karin. Karin had tried her best to smile at the little girl but her smiles didn't let up quite so easily these days. Her idiot of a brother hadn't written to Rukia at all since the war had started. Everyone was worried.

All Karin ever did with her days was to roam through the gardens, seeking solace in the isolation or she went riding on Isamu. The great horse could almost sense that her mood was off so he always tipped his muzzle towards her. She'd then half-heartedly pet him and then climb into the saddle and go around the grounds as fast as the horse could go. The feel of the wind in her hair (which she always let down during riding, no matter what the maids thought) and the stinging of her eyes took her mind of the situation for a while but it would be over all too soon. If it were up to her, she'd keep riding forever but Isamu was getting old and he couldn't keep going for as long as he could before so she'd have to slow down and then eventually stop to get him fed and watered. The pain would then return in all its fervour, stabbing through her heart like an extraordinarily sharp dagger.

She was walking away from the dining room after having had breakfast when she saw a maid trip and fall. She immediately went over to see if she was okay; that had looked like a pretty bad fall. "Hey, you okay?" She asked as she held a hand out.

"Oh, Karin-sama," the girl was younger than Karin was, probably about eighteen. Her ankle was already bandaged up.

"Take my hand," Karin continued to hold her hand out and the maid accepted with a blush. It never failed the servants how honest and sincere Karin could be. She'd helped a maid or servant out on more than one occasion in the past three years. She pulled the girl up and the maid winced a little. "You okay?"

The maid nodded. "Hai, I sprained my ankle before in the kitchens so the nurse said i should take it easy but..."

"What're you doing at work if you're hurt?" Karin sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. The maid merely flushed in response. "What's your name?"

"S-Sakura, you're Majesty, Sakura Yamada."

"Well, Sakura-chan, shall I help you to the nurse's room?" Karin asked.

"Um...N-no, th-that's fine, you're Majesty. I'll manage." Sakura continued to stutter.

"That wasn't really a question that you should refuse." Karin frowned disapprovingly again.

"H-hai! Gomenasai!"

"It's fine. Come on, lean on me for support."

The girl, ill at ease, put her arm around Karin's shoulder and they began to hobble down the corridor towards where the palace nurse resided.

When they got there, Karin knocked. The nurse bid them to come inside and Karin went to help the maid onto the bed in the small room.

She was debating on what she should do now that she wasn't needed there when she caught sight of a flyer on the nurse's desk. She frowned and went over and picked it up.

**Your Soldiers Need You! Become a Field Nurse Today and Help Those Injured on the Battlefield!**

Karin's jaw dropped open but she quickly shut it when she realised. The nurse had a pile of the flyers on her desk so Karin took the one that she was holding and exited.

She couldn't tear her eyes off the information she was receiving. Apparently, there were ships that went to Atsuria especially for those wanting to become nurses. The injured were many and so many nurses were needed. Field nurses were practically _on_ the frontline! The flyer said that any young ladies wanting to become useful in the war could become field nurses. They would be properly trained. Apparently, it would not do for someone with a weak heart or stomach to go down there because the soldiers came back in all sorts of conditions.

What was she waiting for? This was her opportunity to shine! She had to enlist now!

But wait...! She was the queen! She was hardly inconspicuous! She couldn't tell anyone about this because it might get back to Hitsugaya and he'd find some way of stopping her from going. She didn't want him to find out. She just wanted to be close by him to make sure that he was all right.

So? All she had to do was change her identity. Now that she had this golden opportunity, she must pursue it immediately, no matter the cost!

* * *

"Karin-san...?"

Karin stopped dead in her tracks. It was the middle of the night! What the hell was Orihime doing snooping around at this time?

No, Orihime wasn't the one that was snooping around. Karin was on her way to the exit. It was fairly late but some offices that recruited potential field nurses should still be open and she'd made the necessary adjustments to her appearance and was now on her way to sign up.

"Karin-san...is that really you?" Orihime's voice was tinged with uncertainty. "I was just on my way to get a glass of water for my friend but I heard someone coming down the stairs..."

Karin debated with herself whether she should turn around or not. But this was Orihime! All she had to do was order the maid not to tell anyone what she'd seen and Karin could get away! But she didn't want to apply her position in anything and Orihime was her friend.

She sighed wearily and turned around. Orihime's jaw dropped as she took in the alterations. Karin was dressed in a simple pair of khaki pants and a black, baggy shirt and she was wearing a pair of hiking boots (where on earth had she gotten them?) but despite the fact that she was dressed nowhere near appropriate for the wife of a king, it was her facial appearance that really made Orihime gape. Orihime didn't get to see the younger girl without her makeup (even though she kept that light) and her black hair was hanging down on the sides of her face but it was nowhere near as long as it used to be. Before, it had stretched down to her backside but now it barley reached her shoulders. She'd stuck a cap on her head too and her face was...dirty? She'd smeared a small amount of dirt on it, just to complete the look. There was no way that this person could be the queen and that was exactly what Karin was hoping for.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Karin muttered, looking down. "I need to do this."  
"Do what, exactly?" Orihime challenged, taking a step closer.

"Please don't tell anyone." The queen repeated. "This is something that I can't leave alone."

"But do what?" Orihime protested.

"I need you to promise that you won't tell anyone. If you're my friend, you'll keep what you have seen to yourself." Karin continued to look down at the floor, lost in thought. She was aware that the nearest recruiting office would close in little less than an hour and it would take her some time to get there on foot too. She couldn't afford to dawdle. "I have to go." She abruptly turned around and began to run away.

"Karin-san...!" Orihime began to chase after her but then thought better of it. _This is something I can't leave alone_. As she went, Karin threw something over her shoulder and it landed at Orihime's feet.

As the queen's light footfalls faded, the maid bent to pick up the crumpled paper ball. She straightened it out and read what it said. Her eyes widened and she looked into the gloom father down the corridor after her friend. What should she do?

* * *

"Wait!"

Karin barely dived through the door as the burly and buxom lady was about to shut it. The woman eyed the girl up and down, judging her, taking in the clothes and the dirty face and hands. "Yes?"

Karin put her hands on her knees and panted hard, getting her breath back. "I...I wanna sign...up!" She said, still breathing hard.

"Oh? We're closed." The woman frowned.

Karin frowned too as she straightened up. "You're not closed. You were about to close. There's a difference. I'd say I made it in record time."

"Is that so?" The woman sighed and then broke out into a smile. "Very well." She went farther into the room and sat behind the lone desk, which was stacked full of papers. There were two trays; one was marked "going out" and the other was marked "unaccepted".

She searched through the drawers of her desk and finally pulled out a wad of papers. "Our next ship leaves tomorrow, if you wanna leave as soon as possible. You need to do all of these now."

Karin sat down in front of the desk and took the papers from the woman. She was given a pen and she immediately got to work filling out the forms, editing the information where it was necessary to keep her identity hidden. For her name, she put down Yuzu Kurosaki. It was the first thing that came to mind and it was close enough to her own name.

She was done within fifteen minutes. She handed the forms back to the woman and smiled. "So, when do I have to leave?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, we need to all the forms out and then after we've looked at your information and approved it, then we'll decide which day to send you, if you make it." The buxom lady answered.

"Can't you check over them now?" Karin pleaded. "I ran away from home for this. I won't get to go back for a day or two and then escape again." She had Orihime in mind. She had no doubt that the maid would keep her secret but if she tried to go back home, she'd get stuck with Orihime trying to dissuade her from going. She could not let that happen.

"Oh?" The recruiting woman raised an eyebrow high. "You ran away from home? To become a field nurse?"

Karin nodded sadly. "Yes, but due to...complications...I need to go as soon as possible."

The woman fixed her with startling blue eyes for approximately half a minute before she sighed and put the papers down on the desk and started to leaf through them. She asked Karin the odd question and Karin replied to the best of her ability. Another five minutes went by and the woman then picked up the small pile of papers and put them on top of the stack marked "going out". "You'll leave tomorrow." She said.

"When?" Karin asked.

"Nine in the morning. Be at the harbour. You'll know where to queue."

"Ah, man! No way! Where am I gonna sleep until then?!" The queen exclaimed.

"That's your problem, kid." The woman stood up and then waited by the door for Karin to get out. "Have a good night sleepin rough." She grinned and closed the door in the dark-haired girl's face.

"Damn..." Karin scratched her head in puzzlement and then looked around. There were some bushes nearby and behind them stood a tree. The tree was densely laid with leaves and the branches were well concealed. She grinned to herself and headed off to climb it. She may be a queen but she wasn't a conventional queen. Her favourite hobbies included camping and tree-climbing. She felt she could survive.

In the morning, she woke up still sitting securely in the branches. It was a miracle that she hadn't fallen out. But she had a knot in her back and it hurt.

But she was so tired! She felt like she hadn't slept a wink at all. She yawned and then climbed down the tree and stretched. She checked her watch and found that it was eight. She didn't have long to get to the harbour. She quickly set off. People looked at her funny as she dashed through the streets. At least she was in good condition to run such a distance. She rode Isamu all the time and she occasionally went running in the gardens when the servants all retired for the day.

She got to the harbour in record time and then went to join the queue of young women that was gathering before a big ship. The girls were all chatting excitedly between themselves. They couldn't wait to start. This was going to be so adventurous!

They knew little of war's true nature.

Pretty soon, some official looking people came and then the to-be-nurses gave their names, collected a kit bag and boarded the ramp into the ship. Since the queue was long, it was a lengthy process. It was almost noon when the last of the girls had gotten on board.

_Now to Atsuria_, Karin thought with a sensible measure of dread.

* * *

"We got a fresh wave, girls! Come on, wipe the sleep out yer eyes! Get up!" A nurse with a bloodied apron went around the room, shaking all the girls awake. All of them sat up groggily. "Come on, get yer aprons on! We got more comin in!" Immediately, the sleepy girls leapt out of bed and adorned their uniforms and went to see what all the ruckus was about.

Even though they'd all been warned that they shouldn't come here if they had weak hearts or stomachs, many of them dry gagged. It was a good thing no one had ate breakfast yet. The sight that met them was not a nice one. It was downright horrid.

Moans and groans of extreme pain filled the air and the stale stench of urine and blood muddled together to form something revolting. Incapacitated rows of men injured in some way or another was the first thing that hit the eyes upon entering the room. General hubbub hung as various nurses teemed around, trying to see to all the patients at once. There were men from Hitsugaya's country and Atsurian soldiers alike calling out for help, calling for loved ones, for their daughters or wives but the only response they got was nurses telling them that everything would be all right and that they would be taken well care of.

Karin's eyes roamed to and from the rows, scanning all the injuring of the soldiers. She hadn't gagged but she felt like she wanted to. She'd never seen so much blood in her life and she'd never heard such unimaginable cries of pain. One of the senior nurses called out for her to make herself useful and she immediately obliged and rushed into the fray, handling clean towels, removing old bandages, wrapping up amputated limbs with fresh clean dressings. In the midst of all the horror and the rush, she forgot to think of Hitsugaya...aside from the one time when she paused to have a break and prayed to every god that there was that her husband would _never_ be among the injured or dying.

* * *

"Hey, Kurosaki-san, you okay?"

Karin looked up blankly as the girl came up to her. They had a break today. Fresh nurses had come from abroad so now it was their time to learn. She'd been here a good few months now. She could be classed as one of the seniors. She knew what to do well enough and she was efficient and she didn't let her emotions get the better of her. She was possibly the best field nurse there was.

Since a lot of the other girls had off-duty time too, they'd all decided to head into town to relieve some of the stress.

The place was crawling with soldiers and they'd all whistled as the group of girls had gone by and the girls had all giggled in response but they'd continued on. Karin was now sitting outside a shop that they'd gone into to see if they could get any decent food to eat.

"I'm fine." She replied.

The girl, Midori, took a seat on the low wall next to her "colleague". "I know it's a terrible thing, Kurosaki-san, but we do the best we can and we make use of everything that we have. You have some time to take a load off so don't let it go to waste. You need all your energy tomorrow." The girl had light brown hair and dark green eyes. She turned to face Karin and smiled.

"Thanks." Karin muttered half-heartedly.

"Come on, you don't mean that." Midori tutted. "You have to lighten up or this is going to destroy you. You can't let that happen. We all keep a tight rein on our emotions to help us get through but that doesn't mean you have to go completely...flat. We can't lose track of our humanity, Kurosaki-san, or we'll simply cease to be human altogether." Midori put a comforting hand on Karin's arm and Karin didn't shake her off.

Midori and Karin had become friends shortly after Midori had joined. She'd been put under Karin's direction a few weeks ago and the two had steadily grown to like one another's company, though they were still a little formal with one another...or at least, Midori was. "I've seen you during the duty. You're always blank. You just carry out your task preferring not to interact with the soldiers. Not communicating doesn't change anything, Kurosaki-san. It doesn't change the fact that people are constantly dying out there and it is our job to keep them alive. If you hear their complaints instead of blocking them out, then you might actually discover that not everything is unsalvageable."

Karin frowned at her words. "What...d'ya mean?"

Midori smiled sadly. "Everyone has an opinion, Karin. War is terrible but that's just my opinion. If you really try, then you can actually make the soldiers believe that they'd going to be alright and if you befriend them, you have a better chance to saving them. Their bodies aren't the only things that are wrecked by war. Spirits die if they don't get any encouragement so you need to be kind, Kurosaki-san, you need to talk to the soldiers. That way, you might see a light. I know I do." The previously sad smile turned a little livelier.

"What...sort of light?"

"The spark of life, of living and not merely existing. If you make the soldiers believe that they're still _living_ instead of _existing_, then you'll see how happy they get when they regain their usual brightness. It's a blessing." Midori stood up before Karin could ask anything else and she went to join the group of girls as they all came out of the shop. Karin thought on her friend's words a lot as she sat there, waiting to go back to the makeshift hospitals. _You might see a light_.

_You'll see how happy they get when they regain their usual brightness_._ It's a blessing_.

Perhaps there was truth in her words. Karin hadn't seen a smile on any of the soldiers that she'd treated. Maybe Midori was right. She had to talk to them, get them to believe that they were _living_. She suddenly longed to see a smile...a real smile.

_We can't lose track of our humanity, Kurosaki-san, or we'll simply cease to be human altogether_.

She tried to be more positive after that.

"Hikari, get me some hot water and fresh towels!"

"Hai, Kurosaki-san!"

"Yuki, I need some more bandages and a few sterilised needles! Quick!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"How bout you, Private, feelin any better?" She looked down at the pained soldier who lay on the bed before her. He had a wound in his chest that was bleeding heavily. If she didn't do anything about the ruptured artery, he'd die from blood loss and he was exhibiting extreme pain. She was currently pressing a blood-sodden towel to his torso but the blood still kept coming. Her hands were sticky with the red liquid.

"You're a good carer, sister." The soldier muttered faintly. His eyes were drooping shut.

"Yer gon be okay, ya hear me?" She said fiercely.

"Thank you, sister..."

"Come on, I wanna hear ya say it. You'll be okay!"

"I...I'll be okay..."

"I didn't hear nothin, Private!"

"I'll be okay, sister." The man said a little more forcefully. He forced his eyes open and offered her a hazy half-smile and then began to slip into unconsciousness.

"I'll be damned if I'ma let you go, Private!" Karin muttered angrily to herself. She shouted for her underlings to hurry up and then they began the process of trying to pull out the man's severed artery and hold it in place to prevent any further internal bleeding. "You'll be okay. I need to see that smile, Private." She muttered determinedly, but she couldn't help the scowl on her face slipping a little into a sad grimace.

The operation was, thankfully, a success. Karin's underlings all congratulated her as the patient fell into sleep but she brushed off any credit and handed it back to them. They were pleased. She was allowed to take a break after her small victory.

She'd listened to Midori. She'd talked to the patient but she hadn't seen any trace of life. She'd seen a dead half-smile and that was it. _Damn it, I knew I shouldn't listen to anybody..._she thought as tears threatened to squeeze past her tightly shut eyes.

"...sister?"

She jolted up from her seat at the weak croak. She turned to face her patient. "Y-You're supposed to be sleeping, Private..." her voice cracked as a tear rolled down her eyes.

The soldier looked to be no more than eighteen, almost four years her junior. She couldn't shake off the sense of dread that she felt. _He's so young!_ She thought sadly. She wanted to cry right there. He looked up at her fuzzily and reached a laden arm up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. When he looked at her again, she was a little surprised to see that his eyes looked fierier than they had before. "Thank you, sister," he said determinedly, "you are a very good nurse." And he smiled.

Karin bit her lower lip hard but the tears ended up rolling down her cheeks anyway. "Thank _you_, Private. Thank you..." She grinned at the dumb folded expression on the youth's face and wiped at her tears, thoroughly humiliated but happy nonetheless. "You should get some sleep now, soldier. You need to set your sights on making a full recovery."

"Hai, sister."

From the doorway, Midori watched her senior nurse as she grinned and she smiled to herself.

* * *

There's a little bit of a heart-warming tale for ya right there :D And there's more blood to come! Bwahahahahahahahaha! By the way, anyone read any of Seigfried Sassoon's poetry? Or Wildfred Owen? Wilfred Owen is so cool! He was a truly inspiring. If you haven't heard of him, then I IMPLORE you to check out the poems "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "Dulce et Decorum est", they are...amazing, for want of a better word. And it was Wilfred Owen's poetry which really inspired me to write this story but I think my inspiration is going but I'll try to get it back. THANK GOD FOR SHAKESPEARE (major Literature freak)


	27. Part II: Memories

I'm losing confidence in this story :( My writing pace is SO much slower than usual in regards to this story and Beloved. I feel like crying. I don't know where to get any motivation but I'm trying my hardest. I'm sorry to disappoint all those who wanted to have the Arrancar properly in the picture but this story is a romance above all else and I really saw no reason to put them in here. Part II was exclusively supposed to be Karin going to look for Hitsugaya on the battlefield. So that means no Ulqiourra or Grimmjow...actually, I might just stick Grimmy-kun in there somewhere cuz I have a soft spot for him :) But that's if I can actually get the story moving along again. I'm trying so please bear with me.

And just so you know, I got the inspiration for the war happening in the story from the First World War. This is an alternate world in this story so it's like their First World War too. And the Black Feather Campaign that is mentioned is from the White Feather Campaign that women in wartime England made up to humiliate in public those men who refused to go to war after conscription began. What sad bitches...if you ask me, who'd really wanna go ta war?

Anyway, enough of the history lesson, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

* * *

They'd moved again, as always, and various soldiers were killed in enemy fire. Nobody was getting any happier. In the dugouts, while having dinner or breakfast, the men tried to be as cheery as possible but Hitsugaya saw through it all. There was no room to be happy here. War was not something to be desired. Some of the men had gone on leave at some point and they'd been frightened of returning but, apparently, the conditions at home were bad for a soldier. Nobody understood the pain for war back on the home front. All the women related to the soldiers on leave seemed to care about was that the other women's soldiers were out on the frontline, fighting to uphold the peace of the nation while their own men sat at home, indulging in the luxurious lifestyle and it bothered them.

The situation with the Arrancar was not getting any better. The Arrancar were resilient and far outweighed the allies in number, despite how many armies of other countries were involved in the war. But Urahara had had a plan for winning against their inhuman enemy but it was reserved for when all else failed. Hitsugaya knew of this plan but not many others. The blond-haired strategist didn't know anything of the Arrancar at this point so he had to trust the missions that were dished out and the results that were obtained. He had people in training now and those people would join the fray when everything was at its worse. Those people wouldn't need to be used if sheer manpower and firearms were enough...but Urahara doubted that would be the case. The Arrancar were far more durable than an army of men. They had more resistance.

The allies had more manpower after some time. Conscription began after a year and a half. The enemy was too great so the allies needed more men. All able-bodied men were to sign up in the nearest recruitment office. The recruitment offices were set up all across the country and men and boys rushed to sign up in the heat of adventure, thinking of old stories from grandparents or fathers about war being a great thing, of bringing glory.

Young men rushed to sign up to their deaths and when Death would claim them as its own, they would hold no delusions of grandeur and glory. Such was war. War was pitiful to those who had witnessed it first-hand. It held no glory. It held no valour. All it did was give one a sense of uselessness. Lives spent in superfluous monotony before men rushed to the battlefield were wished for as those same men lay dying on the battlefield, their blood pouring out of painful, gaping wounds, and mixing in with those of their comrades. Friends saw friends get murdered before their eyes and they could not do a thing about it except hold up their rifle and shoot back with all their might and expect Death to round the corner and embrace them.

When faced with modern war, what could one do? Think happy thoughts? But life seemed to lose all colour save brown, grey and red on that terrifying battlefield. Many men brought alcohol and drunk themselves silly before they went up to the trenches in preparation for another wave of death and shells. They were too cowardly to watch their own friends get blasted to writhing heaps of red meat. The war was too much.

On the home front, propaganda had reared its ugly head. Newspapers started to print out articles about "duty and honour" and how the men should be striving to sacrifice themselves in the face of war so that their country would be spared and how the gates of heaven would open automatically for the martyrs. A boy of no more than twenty was given dirty looks as he walked down the street because he hadn't signed up yet. Old men were disregarded because they were too old to go to war and hence useless. Soldiers who came back sick but still able to move around became the targets of hordes of flirtatious girls.

Women began to have more rights. There were no men to handle the munitions factories so the women were called upon to do their bit for the war. It was not easy work and girls as young as sixteen were working whereas before, they'd simply had to sit still and look pretty to attract suitors. Suitors became a thing of a past. Every girl's ideal husband was a valiant, romanticized soldier. Every girl's dream was of being rescued by a young man dressed in a helmet, green khaki breeches, short tunics with vests and thick boots, with his rifle slung over his shoulder.

Because men were still hesitant even after half a year after conscription had begun, the women began a campaign to get those men on the battlefield. It was called the Black Feather Campaign. If a woman saw a perfectly able-bodied man wandering the streets, she presented him with a black feather, in front of others so that his humiliation would be apparent for them to see. If girls had lovers who refused to go to war, they would present them with the black feather so that they would be humiliated and relationships would end if the man didn't go to do his part. In the dugouts in trenches that stretched the length of Atsuria and the neighbouring countries, the soldiers talked about this movement with hatred as the nature of war became clearer to the "newbies". How could the women do this do them when they had so little knowledge of what actually happened on the battlefield? They had no right to present their views! They should come down and see what the bloody battlefield was like, and then they'd know!

But with the arrival of more and more "normal" men came a slight lightening of the atmosphere. More experienced soldiers taught the "30 second soldiers" (as those recruited by the conscription services began to be called, because they only learned how to be soldiers in a few short weeks) how it worked in the trenches and how the systems operated, which status meant what, and all the terminology of war. And normal guys brought entertainment. Erotic magazines, unnecessary books, and stories from the homeland.

Some men of the literary variety wrote poems on what war was like and some would go on to be accomplished at conveying the sense of war in later years, when the war would come to an end. Some even became accomplished when they went back home on leave and published their work (though they were all criticised by the media and the propagandists for being cowardly and undeserving to their country). These men were referred to as "the War Poets" and they were the wood that fuelled the burning anger of majors who did nothing but sit some good few miles back from the frontline, observing the war and giving orders but not actually taking part. They probably hated the War Poets because those poets wrote poems about the fat majors who did nothing but stuff their faces full of gourmet foods while young boys died. One such individual was Major Marechiyo Omeada.

A packet of crisps lay open on his lap and his hand constantly kept dipping into the packet and to his mouth to dump the load of crisps in a rhythmic pattern as his eyes roamed over the long list that he held in his other hand. That list was of the numbers and names of soldiers that had died in the past week.

"Oh, I knew him." Omeada grunted, chomping on his snack as he spotted a familiar name. "Good kid, used to be friends with my nephew." His tone did not show any trace of empathy or sympathy at all. He was just glad that it was those young lads out there instead of him.

* * *

So as not to arouse suspicious in the least, Karin didn't write to anyone. She never got any letters because if Hitsugaya had written any, they'd have gone to the palace back home. She wanted so badly to talk to him, to see his face, to see if he was all right (and for the moment, she knew that he was because there was talk of the king among the nurses and the soldiers every day; the nurses that she saw on a daily basis coupled with the soldiers who were admitted, between them, knew something of the king and they spread the news around). She'd been here well over a year now, moving around to help more and more soldiers, switching bases, leaving behind insubstantial friendships and forging new bonds which would, in turn, last but a second. She had lost count of all the soldiers she'd treated. She'd lost count of how many mangled limbs that she'd come across. She'd lost count of how many shrieks of agony that she'd heard. She'd lost count of how many faces she'd seen completely and utterly deprived of hope. She didn't have that much hope herself. This war was pointless. No matter how many of their men sacrificed their lives, the enemy was too strong and numerous.

She'd tried to move closer to the frontline but this was about as close as she was going to get. She didn't know specifically which trench Hitsugaya was in now and she had no idea what he was up to.

_Toushirou...please be okay...Please...please don't get hurt_.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the latest attack against the Arrancar, the king _had_ indeed gotten hurt. He'd adamantly offered (against the better judgement of Urahara) to be on night duty with one other soldier. The other soldier had been allocated a different section to patrol so Hitsugaya was left, for once, on his own. He missed being on his own every once in a while, to just think without Urahara looking over his shoulder. Being a king was hard work.

He was thinking about home (as usual, whenever he got a modicum of peace and quiet) and about Karin. He wondered how she was doing, _what_ she was doing. He wanted so badly to see her face. He'd spent a few letters home but only the ones he sent to his mother were returned. In the last year and slightly more than half, he'd only managed to send and receive four letters. In the first of those four, his mother had explained that Karin was missing. Everybody had tried searching for her, all across the city, but she was nowhere to be found. That had worried him a great deal. In the other three, Chikako had stated that the situation was as bad as ever. Before she'd disappeared, the girl had always been depressed. He was alarmed but he was careful not to show it. Karin would go back home, he was sure of that. She had to. He couldn't afford to worry about her now, not when he had a war to win. Chikako reassured him that they were all doing what they could to search for the missing queen.

He cocked an ear out to the distant sound of guns shooting and bombs dropping. That sound was always constant, like a never-ending alarm clock, no matter where they went, one place would constantly be giving off those noises. In that place, there was no peace; loads of soldiers had died over there. He sighed. He wished there wasn't a war. He wished war didn't exist. They'd been going through times of peace; maybe everyone had become lax to the traits of war. War was not easy by any means. He wanted this over with so that he could do back home, or...if he was going to die, then for fate to claim him soon. He didn't want to bear this. The deaths of so many young men were on his conscience. All the rivers of Neptune couldn't wash off the blood from his hands.

But if his nation fell, then he'd have the failed integrity of a country on his hands too. He had to do this. He had to continue playing this game with Aizen, this terrible game wherein hung the precarious balance of life and death for hundreds and thousands...and even millions...of soldiers.

He slung his rifle by the strap across his shoulder and sighed again as he ran both his hands over his face.

And suddenly, gunfire started to shoot from across no-man's-land. As soon as he heard it, he ducked for cover. The other guy on patrol came running. "Go wake the others!" Hitsugaya shouted when the man was in hearing range.

"Hai!" The man turned and went to the dugout and urgently clambered down the steps.

Hitsugaya sighed and returned fire but at the moment, he was on his own. A single gun against countless others.

This was war.

He got grazed pretty deeply on his left arm but it wasn't deep enough to incapacitate. He kept shooting. By now, whoever was across from them knew that there was only one source of where the volley of bullets was coming from. They were all shooting straight at him. It was lucky he had his protective helmet on. A bullet shot past his cheek, his ear and a few went past his helmet too. But luckily, he was quick enough to duck when he'd fired his own shots and some were way off the mark.

"Hitsugaya-sama!" The shouts came from some metres away and he turned to look, poised to shoot with his head and arms above the trench wall.

He got shot and he grit his teeth to stifle the shriek of pain that was threatening to break out of him as a small bullet embedded itself in his arm, towards his collarbone. "Damn!" He immediately ducked down, clutching his now useless and bloody right arm to him with his left hand.

"Hitsugaya-sama!" Urahara cried out urgently as he crouched and then came to rest by Hitsugaya quickly. "What happened?!"

"T-They suddenly started attacking and it was just me here." Hitsugaya was panting heavily. The pain was great.

"We're gonna get you to a field hospital, okay? Just hang in there!" Urahara stood up and gave some orders to the closest men to temporarily get the king sorted with a first aid kid and then went to refer to other information to see where the nearest field hospital was located. Other members of the group, despite feeling anxious about their king's condition, attacked the enemy on Hitsugaya's orders.

* * *

"Hitsugaya-sama has been injured! The king has been injured! Hurry!"

The nurses were in uproar, even the patients. There was chaos in the makeshift hospital as women in uniforms ran around, trying to get some semblance of order in the mess and see to the patients. Many would be sent home because their conditions were particularly bad, back at home, they'd be treated much better than they were being seen to here, in these shabby buildings that barely passed as hospitals. But it was so hectic; the beds were all full and there were few patients who could spare their resting places. There was nothing to do but try to accommodate them all somehow but now the king had arrived. What could they do?

One soldier in a room to himself kindly lent his bed and, although the nurses themselves were too busy to make any note, Hitsugaya tipped his head to the man as the soldier gazed at him upon passing. The man smiled in response, even though half his head, around his right eye and his scalp, was wrapped in bandages, and he bowed. Hitsugaya felt oddly comforted and he spared the man a grateful half-smile.

The room was cut off from the other patient areas and the sheets were cleaned on the bed and he was then laid down and the nurses, without dithering, adorned their masks and their hair caps and their aprons and got to work...

...But there was no anaesthetic. Supplies were running out and the last resources van, apparently, had been bombed...it'd be a while before the next load came in.

"H-Hitsugaya-sama, m-my apologies, b-b-but we have no a-anaesthetic..." The nurse looked more than a little afraid. She was dealing with the king of her home country, after all. He wouldn't want to feel pain but there was nothing they could do. He'd probably demand that they get a hold of anaesthetics somehow. He had every right to not want to feel pain...

"That's all right." His expression was blank but it kept shifting to pain. He was trying very hard to stifle the pain he felt. "Just get on with it."

"Y-Yes, My Lord." She bowed deeply and then turned to the nurses and, casting them uncertain looks, she began to work, apologising as she did.

All those present would forever admire his strength and endurance. He never screamed at all throughout the entire ordeal. They'd respected their king before, but he was a hero now.

* * *

Karin heard the news some days later. A soldier who was getting transferred from further down the frontline had had to go through their field hospital before going on further had told them that he'd been shot in the right arm and the arm was temporarily useless. He said they'd considered sending him back home but the king was adamant about staying here.

After that, Karin immediately went about trying to transfer away from that hospital and one closer to where the king was currently staying. If he was going to be temporarily put out of use, then she might just have enough time to see him before he went back out into the action. She wanted so badly to see him. It had been far too long. Her heart was yearning to see his face again.

So, when she got the chance, she moved along with a few other girls that were being switched (along with some soldiers). The new hospital was nothing new. She had to stay there for at least a day before she moved again. Time was short. If his arm had been rendered useless because of the bullet, then it had hit a major nerve or something like that so he'd be recuperating for quite a while.

_Please be all right...please, stay where you are...I'm coming...please..._she thought desperately.

* * *

"This is it..." Urahara muttered, carefully keeping his face blank. "We're the last of the infantry..."

"What?!" Hitsugaya snapped sharply, turning on the blond-haired man in astonishment.

"Haven't you heard, Hitsugaya-dono?" The older of the two sighed. "The enemy have vanquished all our forces expect a few. We're all that's left."

"But why didn't I hear of this before?!" The king demanded impatiently.

Urahara raised an eyebrow. "You've not heard? This is the news that's been going around."

Hitsugaya could not believe it. "S-So what...do we do now?" The usually confident king looked like he was at a loss.

Urahara gave him a grim, sad smile and patted his shoulder. "Well," he took in a deep breath and then let it whoosh out of him, "I guess we just go forth."

"What's the current number of the enemy?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Two million." Urahara looked down, avoiding the sudden astonishment that suddenly overcame the king's expression.

"T-T-Two million?!" He stuttered. "B-But that can't be! Almost all our numbers have gone and they've still got that many soldiers?!"

"They're too hardy. We can't defeat them. This is the last charge."

Suddenly, there was a shout from somewhere farther down. The captains and colonels were placed all down the line, ready to shout the order as soon as the king gave word. This current shout was for soldiers to prepare themselves.

After a brief pause, Hitsugaya turned his attention back to his advisor. "So, what shall we do?! We're only got so many people left and then we'll all be history! This is not going to accomplish anything! We're just sending the men to unnecessary, needless deaths!"

Urahara sighed yet again. "But what else can we do? We are soldiers. We cannot just abandon our duty simply because the war's outcome is already blatantly obvious."

Hitsugaya's shoulders slumped. "So...we have lost."

"Indeed..."

Hitsugaya jolted awake and then gasped in pain when his arm throbbed. "Shit!" He muttered in a strained voice. He was panting and sweat was lining his forehead. _It was a dream_...he thought, running the back of his left hand across his damp forehead. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. That had left so real! _The hopelessness of it all..._Maybe there was a message in there? Maybe there really was no point in this. But then if they didn't retaliate, then Aizen's forces would take over all their lands. Aizen was an ambitious bastard who wanted nothing more than to take over the world. He wanted to be the master of everything. Currently, the lands beyond the border divide were all his. He was said to be ruthless and yet honourable (as said by one of the Arrancar that they'd taken hostage once).

The king sighed. He almost wished Karin were here; she had the unnatural ability to calm him down in any situation. He hoped she was all right...wherever she was. He hoped she'd gone back home by now. Maybe she had; his last letter to his mother had been five months ago. That was all that he could hope for at the moment.

But he reprimanded himself for even thinking up the idea of her being here. He didn't want her here. He wanted her far away from any type of battlefield. He wanted her as far away from anything to do with war as heaven was from hell. She didn't belong with him in a place like this. She was his queen; she deserved the best in life.

Even thinking of her cheered him up a little, though his outward appearance remained the same. Maybe he could take leave sometime soon and see if the country was as he'd left it. It had been so long, more than two years! Two birthdays had gone by and it wouldn't be too long now before he would be 24. They didn't seem important but Urahara had asked their cook to prepare something special and the majors had sent down some fresh meat and champagne. He couldn't have cared less how old he was.

Usually, back at the palace, there would be a grand celebration to signify his turning another year older but he'd never held much regard for the occasions. It was all so pointless. After all, birthdays merely signified one getting a year closer to one's death but he'd dutifully accepted all the gifts he'd received with a fake gesture that somewhat resembled a smile.

The first time Karin had learnt of his birthday was a pleasant memory.

"_Ne, Shirou-kun, when's your birthday?"_

_He looked up at his wife and saw that she'd turned her attention away from the events in the book that she'd been reading. "What's this, so suddenly?" He muttered sleepily._

"_Apparently, it's the birthday of one of the characters in here," she lifted the book a little to indicate what she meant, "and it occurred to me that I still don't know when your birthday is."_

_He sighed and pulled the bed sheet up to his chin. "It's not important."_

"_Yes, it is." She disagreed as she put her book down and slid it under her pillow. She slid down and then laid her head on her pillow. "To me, it is."_

"_Why?"_

_She smiled suddenly, "because I want to get you the best present ever."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you can live up to that? As the king, people from all over the country come and present me with heaps and heaps of useless but extravagant gifts from across the world."_

"_I didn't mean quality, silly," she rolled her eyes, "I meant that I'd give you the best gift because it'd matter."_

"_Oh, how so?"_

"_Because it'll be something unforgettable."_

He smiled as he thought back. It had been unforgettable, all right. After she'd made her little promise, she'd started to behave a little strangely. Every time they went out together or when something significant happened in their lives, she'd taken pictures. When his birthday had rolled around, she'd presented him with a scrapbook that had been filled with pictures of him and her, and it had had little descriptions for each picture. She'd also given him a camera with it so that he could further add to the collection himself and for the first shot, he'd taken a snapshot of her smiling face.

When he'd asked where she'd gotten the idea, she'd told him it was one of the presents that she and her twin had received from their mother when they'd been three years old. That scrapbook was still at the Kurosaki place and Yuzu updated it whenever she had the chance. It had pictures of the two since they'd reached their third year. The book that Karin had given him was still in his room and she updated it whenever she had the chance because he never had the time.

The pictures that he'd taken of her when she'd been pregnant had been the best ones in his opinion, because she'd looked so vulnerable and he'd wanted nothing more than to be there for her, to hold her. During those times, she'd always laugh because his hand would always stray to the slight bump in her abdomen whenever she'd been near him. He'd always marvel at the fact that there was life in there, life which the two of them had brought about together.

But those times had been limited. He'd wanted to take those pictures out later because they'd cause her such pain (she'd miscarried three times since they'd first gotten married) when she looked through them.

Despite how tough Karin acted, she wanted to have children because she had a fondness for young life. She'd told him as much a few times and there hadn't been much he could say besides "we've just gotta hope". And she loved her niece dearly but it also pained her every time she saw the little girl because she wanted to have her own daughter...or her own son.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. If anything like his earlier dream became a reality, then they'd never have a child. It was somewhat depressing.

* * *

Sorry if you could spot any grammar or spelling mistakes; I tend to skip out on proof reading these days -sheepish grin-

Hope you enjoyed it though, and all reviews are greatly appreciated and thank you to all those who have thus far commented on this story of mine. By the way, did you guys spot the Shakespearean reference? Eh heh, couldn't resist...


	28. Part II: Reunion

I've had to alter my plans for this story a little cuz those plans wouldn't have fitted in now. This story is almost at an end an you would not believe how happy I am about that fact. Possibly just two more chapters after this :)

Thank you to all the people who felt that I conveyed the proper sense of war. That makes me so proud! Thank you! I actually achieved something so it's a big deal for me

To answer the review of Fallow of the Forest, the time setting of this fic is basically NOWHERE. Haha, this is a fictional world where they just happened to speak Japanese and wear kimonos but they wear tunics and boots during war :D I know it's odd but this society, as I'm sure I said before, is a nowhere society so that basically means that anything goes, upper class, higher class, nobility, peasants, war, machine guns, kimonos, whatever...everything's in there, man! But I might add in a bit towards the end of the story which describes that the class system was a little less dense after the war. That happened in England after WW1; soldiers all lived the same lives in the trenches so there really was no use for nobility and wealth and, hence, people began to get on a little better.

Sorry for the history lesson, again. Enjoy! And sorry for any mistakes.

* * *

Once she got past all the demands of the field nurses, Karin found it fairly easy to locate where her husband was; he was the king, after all. Of course, from the moment that she actually heard the news of the king's injury, it took her eight weeks to make it to where he was. It wasn't easy; other senior nurses made it a rule that a new nurse had to stay for at least a few days before she moved on. She'd lost count of all the field hospitals that she'd gone through, how many patients she'd had to treat.

But when she got there, she discovered that there was a problem. Due to the king's special status, he was given a separate room and that room was heavily guarded; no one aside from the specified nurse was allowed to go in there, and even that nurse had to state her reasons for going in. During this war, people of import had to be protected because there were members of the enemy's army trying to get rid of them and the king was the first one that assassins set their sights on. Apparently, the life of the king of Atsuria had been threatened many times. She felt sorry for Ukitake; he was already so frail in health and he was such a nice person; he really didn't deserve to get killed so mercilessly.

She was put on duty like the rest of the nurses but she tried to linger by the room of the king as much as she could, in the vain hope that she'd catch a glimpse of her beloved. All she wanted was one tiny peek, was it so much to ask?

After being there a few days, she began to despair. One glance and she could set her heart at ease. He clearly wasn't dead yet so the injury wasn't something that he could never recuperate from. She was relieved at that, but she really wanted to see him. As a result, she started to sleep less and less, instead, favouring her time for watching the door to Hitsugaya's room intently. Surely he had to come out for a break sometime? Unless there was already a bathroom in there, if that was the case, he could probably stay in there all day. Every time she saw the nurse going in there, she saw nothing aside from a curtain around the bed and then the door closed before the nurse could pull back the curtain. She couldn't even hear his voice! It was so frustrating! If only someone would lift that curtain beforehand!

But why couldn't she just storm over there and demand that they let her in? She was the queen after all, she was Hitsugaya's wife! She deserved to see her husband! At one time, she nearly did go up to the burly security guards but another nurse on duty called on her to take care of another patient and she had to obey. Besides, she was sure the security guards had their eyes on her because she spent far too long loitering in that particular corridor.

After a week, due to her many sleepless nights, she began to feel unwell and the other nurses put it down to delayed shock or something stupid like that. As if she would go down that easily! She was given an extra day off to stay in bed and recuperate and she caught up on some much needed sleep.

During this particular day, Urahara was visiting the hospital to check up on the king's condition. The guards let him through. He checked on Hitsugaya and found that the king was a little better than the last time Urahara had been to visit last week. It cheered him up somewhat.

After reporting the newest developments, Urahara left the room to take a breather from the "sick smells" of the hospital. It was then that the guards called him back and informed him of the woman that they'd seen hanging around far too much around the room. They'd all been deliberating on whether they should actually tell the king's strategist or not; after all, she could have just been some overly enthusiastic fan girl of the king, goodness knew there were many of them all over the place.

Urahara took the information in and, just out of sheer curiosity, decided to hunt down this girl. He got the description from the guards and then went to search.

There were many nurses in the hospital. He decided to just ask at the main nurses' station. There were quite a number of dark-haired women working there but he managed to narrow those numbers down by asking who worked where and during what hours. From those working on the same corridor as the king's room, there were only seven who matched the features. He requested a list of those names.

**Hitomi Nagoya**

**Natsumi Tanami**

**Hikari Miyata**

**Ai Nakagawa**

**Maiko Tanaka**

**Yuzu Kurosaki**

**Takiko Oonishi**

For obvious reasons, his gaze went to rest straight on the sixth listed name. He pointed the name out and asked where he could find her.

"Um...apparently, she's not feeling too well so she's resting now." The nurse behind the desk replied.

"Where can I find her?" He repeated firmly.

The nurse sighed and told him. He spared her a mysterious smile and went on his way. _So, _Yuzu_ Kurosaki, eh?_ He chortled to himself. She should have made a bigger effort to hide her identity. Of course, he knew all about the queen's absence back home and he was worried for the effect it'd have on the king. So far, Hitsugaya was holding up well but Urahara said fairly certain that whatever pretences of normality the king had going on at the moment would shatter the moment Urahara told him that his wife was currently here, not four corridors away from where he was resting.

But he wasn't sure if he should tell him. If Karin was going to continue being blatantly obvious about her presence, no matter how desperate she may be to see her husband, Urahara could not say a thing since the job would be done for him.

But he had to admit that he was impressed. Karin had been missing back at home for perhaps ever since the war started (as far as they knew) and she'd been at the battlefield all along without the king getting a gist of it. The people around were really starting to go blind; how exactly could the queen disguise herself and flit among ordinary folk? Of course, he knew a little of Karin's childhood pastimes; she used to hang around peasants all the time. Maybe she could pass herself off as one without lifting so much as a finger. But it was still unbelievable; she was the _queen_! But then again, not many knew what her name had been before she'd gotten married to the king and surely nobody knew her sister's name.

He reached the specified door and paused to take in the sight before walking in. There were loads of beds all lined up in two rows, not too different from how the beds of the patients were laid out. The covers were all plain white. Some had pictures by the bedside tables and water pitchers with a glass, but not all the nurses in all the field hospitals chose to stay in one place for too long so there was really no point in personalising quite so much.

At the moment, only one bed as occupied. He walked up to it and looked down. The nurse lying there asleep was in her early twenties and had badly cropped black hair and she looked a little ill.

"Yuzu Kurosaki...found you." Urahara muttered with a lopsided grin. He sat on the adjacent bed, facing her, and took in all the features. She looked the same as she had when he'd last seen her, minus the miniature creases that lined the corners of her eyes. She looked like she'd worried a lot...or frowned a lot; either was possible in Karin's case. She frowned a lot, like her brother, and she did sometimes have the tendency to worry incessantly about the people close to her. No doubt, she'd been worrying about the king a lot these past two years.

He suddenly decided to wake her up. He'd have a little "chat" with her about what the hell she was doing so close to the battlefield without the king's consent. He stood up and reached a hand out and gently shook her shoulder. Her dark eyebrows pulled together and she mumbled something before settling back into peaceful slumber. He sighed and shook her again.

Slowly, her eyelids began to flutter open. She stared at him a good long while before she bolted up into a sitting position, her wide eyes fixed on his shadowed ones.

"Hello, _your majesty_." His tone was mocking.

"U-Urahara...!" She gasped. "I-I don't know what you're talkin bout!"

He cocked an eyebrow under his usual bucket hat but she didn't see it. "Oh? Don't play dumb, Hitsugaya-sama. You're not supposed to be here."

She continue to defiantly meet his gaze, but not did not speak to defend her ignorance of the matter. She knew it was hopeless. Urahara was too intuitive and if someone really did try to remember who she was, her face didn't look too different from the face that she'd shown the outside world as "the queen" and Urahara was far too familiar with her and her family. After a while, she sighed and lowered her gaze. "I-I only wanted to...see him..."

Urahara frowned and then lowered himself onto the bed next to hers. "I understand that, Hitsugaya-sama, but you know you're not supposed to be out here. Not only is it wrong for the queen to suddenly go AWOL, but you're hurting your husband by doing this. He's worried enough as it is so he doesn't need for problems on his plate, can you understand that?"

She'd frozen at his words. It took a while for the full implications to sink in. She'd never considered that possibility before! Now that she'd been told, she felt so foolish! "Oh god..." she dropped her head into her hands and sighed deeply. How could she have been so stupid? She was such an idiot! She had been so selfish! How thoughtless she had been! She'd put her own needs and necessities before Hitsugaya's and she'd selfishly gone to seek him out to put her own mind at ease, not once thinking that he has far too many burdens on his shoulders already! She couldn't even begin to hope to share those burdens; she wasn't qualified to do so! She was so pathetic! She just added to his load when his troubles were already so high! She'd left home, never once taking into account that his status would heap upon countless duties onto him! They were in a war, for god's sake! This wasn't a game! _So foolish, I'm such an idiot...!_ She thought guiltily.

Urahara narrowed his eyes as he watched her. Finally, after possibly five minutes, she straightened up and looked at him in remorse. He was glad she wasn't crying. He sighed. "Now that you understand, you need to make your way back home immediately. I'll make arrangements."

She nodded obediently. "But...first, can...can I see him?"

He raised an eyebrow again but realised the action was futile because she couldn't see it because of his ever-present hat so he settled for quizzically muttering, "Hmm...? You actually want to alert him to your presence? He'll be even more worried that way; he doesn't want you anywhere near here. I think you should leave as soon as possible without conferring with anybody."

Her gaze turned pleading. "Please...Just...just one glance, he doesn't have to know that I'm here!"

He considered her a moment and then finally shrugged. "Ok, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Relief flooded across her features. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"But you have to promise that you'll go home and never attempt anything like this again." He said sternly.

"Hai, I promise." She stated solemnly.

He sighed again and stood up. She followed suit. She'd gone to sleep in her uniform, so she didn't need to change; this would be a very quick affair. "Put a...bonnet on or something." He instructed.

She frowned at him, her anxious but happy smile fading. "Eh? What for?"

He rolled his eyes. "The guards. If they look too closely, you might be recognised."

She obediently pulled out a hat and adorned it, slipping it down over her eyes. They set off. Karin was getting excited. She would finally get to see her husband! Her blood was pumping away furiously, as if in anticipation of the "momentous event".

When they arrived at the door, Urahara stepped up to the guards as they all looked suspiciously at Karin. "Yuzu-san here is an acquaintance of the queen's; I recognise her from a while back at one of the tea parties that Karin-sama held." The blond man said in all seriousness. Karin's eyebrow shot up alarmingly beneath the hat and she took on an incredulous look. _Me?! Tea parties?! Puh-lease!_ She thought furiously, but she soon became serious again as the guards' gazes drifted over to her. "And she wishes to pay the king a visit for her friend's assurance." Urahara continued.

The guards seemed to ponder on it awhile. If Urahara said so, then it must be true. Urahara knew everything there was to know about the king and if _anyone_ held the position of Toushirou Hitsugaya's best friend, it would probably be that man, his old martial arts teacher. They all sighed and waved the two visitors past.

Karin felt a bubble of extreme joy well up inside her and she practically jumped on the spot, but she managed to control herself...barely. Urahara swung open the door and she followed him in before he shut it again. He calmly walked over to the curtain to peer at the king and turned back to Karin with a slight smile. "Do be quiet, your majesty. He's still sleeping."  
Karin's heart was thumping away in what felt like the completely wrong place and her stomach was releasing some weird fluttery sensations. Surely she couldn't be this nervous about meeting her own husband! But she hadn't seen him in a little more than two years! She had every right to be nervous! Beyond that curtain, the man that she loved lay asleep with an injured arm.

"Karin-sama?" Urahara enquired.

She took in a deep breath of air and confidently strode forward despite the tightening of her chest. She was finally going to see him again! She pulled the curtain back as Urahara moved out of the way. Her breath caught.

He still looked the same, if not a little pale and worn. His hair was still the same brilliant white and his features were still the same as they used to be; perfect. Involuntarily (even though she wasn't an overly emotional person), her eyes started to well up with tears. She reached out a tentative hand and light brushed her fingers along his cheek. He briefly frowned in response before the peaceful look took over again. She had to stifle a sob by putting a hand over her mouth. Damn it, why was she being so emotional? This wasn't like her at all! She couldn't be so noisy! She couldn't start bawling now, she'd wake him up! He needed his rest!

She took in a deep breath to calm herself down and it helped, somewhat. She wiped the tears roughly and just stood looking at him. She reached a hand out again but dropped it before she touched him. If he consciously felt the touch, he'd wake up.

He was so close! She really wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around him and never let go but she couldn't. He had a war to win. She suddenly remembered his injury and looked to his arm. The bandages were covered by the broad sleeves of the simple white yukata that he wore but there was a slight bump in his right bicep which suggested that there was indeed something there. So he really was injured. She'd really been hoping, regardless of how pathetic it was, that she'd been hearing things, that it was simply a rumour. She gently lifted up the sleeve of his rode just enough to bare his wrist and lightly slapped his skin. He stirred a little and drew his arm closer to himself but winced a little as he did. A relieved sigh escaped her lips. He could feel what happened to that arm and he could move it around; he would be okay. It wasn't life threatening. He'd recuperated immensely if he really had temporarily lost use of that limb. She sighed again.

She looked at him tenderly, her heart and mind both mixed up in the moment. It was so incredible that she'd managed to see him! She was so grateful! She took in a deep breath and bent down to place a quick kiss on his lips.

But as soon as she did, she found herself lingering a little longer than necessary and his good arm twisted sluggishly about her head, keeping her in place. She froze.

"Karin..." He muttered sleepily into her lips. He seemed to realise that there was an obstruction in his way and his eyes immediately began to open. Two years of battle experience had taught him to immediately snap to attention upon waking up and he pulled the figure above him away roughly before he took his time to understand who that person was.

"Urahara..." Karin mumbled slowly, "problem."  
Hitsugaya didn't pay attention as the blond man pulled back the curtain. He knew that voice! And now that he looked properly, that person was familiar too! Could it be...? "K-Ka...Rin...?" He muttered hoarsely.

"We _do_ have a problem," Urahara stated in an undertone.

Karin pulled the hat back so that she could see her husband clearly. "Hey, Toushirou." She smiled a a tear slid down her cheek.

Hitsugaya was dumbstruck. "Y-You're...you're really...here...?" His voice came out a little croaky so he cleared his throat before continuing. "Is that really...?"

"Yup, in the flesh." She smiled and stepped a little closer.

"Karin..." He could only gape. He was still trying to get his mind around it. He wasn't hallucinating, was he? If he was, this was the best hallucination ever! But...he didn't hallucinate. He straightened out his dumb folded expression and raised his left hand and motioned for her to come closer. She did so and stopped right before his bedside. "Urahara..." he muttered, not breaking eye contact.

"Yes, milord?" Urahara, despite his misgivings about Hitsugaya finding out about his wife's presence so close to the frontline, had to grin.

"Excuse my wife and I for a moment, could you? And tell no one else to interrupt. I have some...matters to discuss with this person here." He still didn't break eye contact but, suddenly, his features lightened and a lopsided grin broke out across his face. He turned to his strategist and Urahara was a little shocked, to say the least. He hadn't smiled in more than two years and he was suddenly grinning like a little schoolboy who found a hidden stash of his favourite candy!

"As you wish, sir." Urahara turned around on his heel and began to pull the curtain back so he could step out but he paused. "But what shall I tell the guards?"

Hitsugaya frowned. "What about the guards?"

"Well, they all think "Yuzu-san" here is a friend of the queen's so it would be a bit weird to think that the king was alone in the room with another woman." The blond man coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment.

The grin spread out again. "It doesn't really matter anymore. Tell em the truth but just don't let em tell anyone else."

Urahara bowed and took his leave.

They waited for the click that would indicate the shutting of the door before turning to look at each other again.

"Hey." She muttered.

"Yo." He took her wrist with the hand of his good arm and pulled her down to set her across his lap. She willingly let herself be led and settled comfortably against him. "Mind tellin me exactly what you're doin here?"

"I'm a nurse, can't you tell?" She tried to make it sound sarcastic but her emotions were playing up too high for it to sound anything other than soft.

"I can see that but why are you a nurse?" He enquired softly, his green eyes boring into her dark blue ones.

She flushed and looked away. "Because...I wanted to see you..."

He stared at her in silence for a while and then sighed. "Baka...don't do something like this without telling me first."

She looked down. "I'm sorry...I didn't think. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

A finger was placed beneath her chin and her head was tilted back. She met his gaze again and couldn't help noticing he looked melancholic.

"You _did_ make me worry, Karin. Don't ever do this kind of thing again, you understand?" He demanded but, although authoritative, his voice was gentle.

"Hai."

"Good." He smiled and wrapped his left arm about her waist and pulled her as close as she could get. She bent her head down and pressed her lips against his while her own arms snaked about his shoulders.

The familiar touch was almost overwhelming. Fresh tears came to Karin's eyes (much to her dismay) and even Hitsugaya _almost_ cried. Their hands went to roam over the other's body, familiarising routes that they'd taken before, what seemed like a century ago.

More than once, Hitsugaya grimaced as his right arm was nudged or moved too sharply and Karin pulled back to see if it was okay but he didn't let her go and continued to kiss her.

How they had dreamed of their reunion! It felt so good to let their five senses take in everything about their counterpart, to hear the sounds of the other's mumbling voice, or the smell of their sweat as the temperature seemed to increase, or the sight of the other so close, or the touch of the other as hands roamed first across clothing and then under to feel flesh on flesh, or maybe the taste as their tongues met between the intimate union of their lips and then broke apart to seek out other patches of naked skin. These were all familiar things and they all brought comfort in this new and alien world. In this world of warfare and bombs and death, the act of making love seemed so precious and rare.

When they were finished, she was laying next to him, on his left, with her head on his bare chest, playing with the bandage on his right arm. That arm had caused quite some problems when removing the clothes...and much else besides but it didn't matter. He needed to get better soon.

"Are...you really going to make me go back home?" She asked quietly, still tugging at his bandage.

"Of course." He replied as he kissed the top of her head. "I can't have you here."

"Why not? I'm already a nurse. Please let me continue."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Karin, but I want you far away from all this. I'm sure the experiences you've had on this field have far exceeded the sufficient amount for one lifetime."

"But I want to help!" She protested, rising her head a little to look up at him.

He shook his head gravely. "I'm sorry. Please listen to me on this one; I _cannot_ have you here."

"But why?" She was aware that she was starting to sound like a spoilt child but it didn't matter; she wanted to stay. She was adamant.

He pulled the hair away from her forehead. "Because you're the queen, Karin. You need to follow certain...unwritten rules."

"I hate rules!"

"I know that but when you're the wife of the ruler of the country, you really do have to abide by those rules. It's not only etiquette, but also _law_, of a kind. You can't shirk your duties because then people will start to think you're a joke."

"Does it really matter so much what people think?" She asked, a little disappointed.

He sighed again and frowned. "When you're a king, I guess it does." A hint of sarcasm appeared in his tone but it soon disappeared. "The "people" that we're talking about are the citizens of our nation, Karin. We need them to believe in us, not laugh at us. They have to take us seriously, not think of us as jokes and for that, we ourselves have to set good examples, whether that be by following the written rules or the unwritten ones; rules are rules."

This time, Karin sighed. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. "As you wish...my king."

A smile flickered across his lips and he kissed her head again. "Good." He pulled the sheet up to her chin and then let his arm go back to circling her waist.

"Shouldn't we get dressed?" She mumbled. "I'm sure your nurse will start to get suspicious and then you know how rumours start; these women are unbelievably gossipy."

He smiled. "I'd like to put in a special request for this nurse" here, he gently tightened his arm around her before loosening it again, "until arrangements are made for you to go back home."

She lifted her head up to look up at him. "Really?"

"Uh-hmm..."

A smile spread across her lips and she reached up and quickly pressed her lips against his. She then got up and started to dress. He gazed at her figure appreciatively before she slipped her clothes on. It was probably the best sight he'd seen these past two years.

"Need any help with your clothes?" She asked as she finished.

"You asking that as my nurse or my wife?" He joked.

She rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his right arm without realising. He grimaced and clutched at his limb. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She said hurriedly, putting a hand over her mouth. She bent down to check whether he was all right and he took the opportunity to grab her by the wrist (with his left hand) and pull her down onto his lap. "This is punishment for maltreating a patient, nurse." He said huskily into her ear.

A shiver ran down her spine but it wasn't due to any kind of coldness. She grinned and circled her arms about his neck. "If that's the case, soldier, I might just have to do it more often."

He grinned before covering her mouth with his own.

* * *

Freakin took me so long to get this scene right. I'm so tired. My college exam results are coming in tomorrow and I've probably failed so I won't get to go to university. I feel so depressed :(

Anywa, hope you enjoyed it!


	29. Part II: Blessing

I re-did this chapter a little cuz some people were dissatisfied with some details before. As I said, I'm losing hope in this story and now that the end is in sight, I just want to get this out of the way and I guess I'm making more mistakes. I really can't be asked with this story anymore so don't expect too much for the last chapter. It'll probably be the shittest piece of work you've ever seen. I really hate this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

* * *

Hitsugaya was happy. He was happy that he got to see his wife again and he didn't want her to leave his side. But for her own safety, she had to leave. She could not be here. This wasn't the right place for the queen of his country to be.

He had Urahara organise the details of her departure but told him to do it slowly. He was letting his wife stay with him for a week, at the least.

She was by his side practically all day. She changed the dressing on his arm whenever it needed changing and got him other medication that was required for him to feel less pain. The other nurses in the hospital started to gossip. For all they cared, Karin was another woman and she was nothing special...okay, maybe she had a brilliant reputation as a succinct person who was very good at her job but still! Why on earth was the king letting her spend so much time with him?

Urahara explained that she was a good friend of the queen's so she was spending as much time as she could with the king so that she could tell the queen detailed stories of how he was doing; the queen was very worried, apparently. But that still didn't stop the nurses from speculating. She was another woman and he already had a wife; just what on earth were they doing in there? Most of them were thinking something along the lines of "get thee to a nunnery" in regards to the dark-haired nurse.

That week was the happiest of Karin's life but it was over all too soon.

"It's time to go." Urahara stood in the doorway.

Karin had just finished applying a new bandage to Hitsugaya's arm and had been about to make her way out of the room to discard the old dressing. She stopped when she heard the blond man's words. "T-Today...?" She stuttered hesitantly.

"Now."

Hitsugaya pulled the curtain back to look at the duo. Karin turned to face him beseechingly and but he sighed. "I can't let you stay, Karin. You promised, remember? Now go pack."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she brushed past Urahara on her way out of the room.

"I'm counting on you." Hitsugaya muttered, sitting properly on the bed and facing straight ahead. "Make sure she goes straight home."

"Yes, milord." Urahara offered a small bow and exited. Hitsugaya sighed and wearily rubbed his eyes and then ran a hand through his hair. He wished she didn't have to go, but he was the one that gave the order. She couldn't be on the battlefield...or near it. He wanted her home, safe and sound.

Probably ten minutes passed until a grim Karin, now dressed for the outdoors, burst through his door again and ran straight up to him, pulling the curtain aside. She nearly threw him off the bed in her haste to wrap her arms about him.

"I'll miss you..." She whispered.

He sighed and hugged her back. "I'll miss you too."

"There's no chance you'll let me stay?"

"I'm sorry."

He was glad she wasn't crying. Aside from the fact that crying wasn't something that Karin often did, it'd just break his heart. He didn't want to see her cry; he wanted to see her with a smile on his face.

She sighed. "Please take good care of yourself." She mumbled.

"I will."

"And return home soon."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

She pulled away and gazed at him sadly for a while before inching her lips closer to his and kissing him deeply.

"You better go. Urahara gets cranky when he's kept waiting." Hitsugaya said as he pulled back.

"Hai." She stood up straight and looked at him for a long moment before turning on her heel and, pushing the curtain back, striding out of the room.

When the door closed behind her, Hitsugaya sighed and settled back into his bed and pulled the sheet up to his chin. He'd miss her terribly.

Karin took in a deep breath to keep the tears at bay. _I will not cry! I refuse to cry_! She thought furiously. The waterworks weren't her forte. She was good at remaining calm under pressure...but not when it came to Hitsugaya. She could not, for the life of her, stay calm where her husband was concerned.

"Ready?" Urahara asked, for once being sensible enough not to apply his usual goofiness to the situation. She nodded and he picked up the little bag which contained all her belongings and they began to walk away. The security guards, as instructed, did not pay any mind to the queen. It would have been too obvious to show that much formality by bowing to a mere nurse in such a busy hospital.

_Goodbye...my king_...She sighed deeply and blinked several times to clear her eyes.

_The course of true love never did run smooth._ Urahara suddenly mused as he cast a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. It was kind of upsetting since she was to be his charge for the week-long ride back to their country. It wasn't something that he was overly particular about but it was more fun being around someone who was in a good mood; that way, he got to joke around more. But Karin was glum now and she'd probably be glum all the way back and Urahara wasn't really all that good at making people cheer up.

* * *

When they got off the boat and stepped foot onto the soil of their own home country, Karin looked around. It had been so long! She'd been away from just a little less than two years and she was now back.

"Come along, your majesty." Urahara said as he pulled down the brim of his hat. "I have strict orders to see you to the palace."

"Right." She hurried along after him, feeling rather empty because she didn't have to carry anything; Urahara had insisted that he'd shoulder her single bag.

Urahara was vigilant as they walked along. After all, there weren't any more guards around so he had to be on alert for the queen.

As they moved along, some people turned to stare. Ever since Urahara had decided to be a member of the council, he'd become well recognised by the townspeople because he had always accompanied the king everywhere. He was the king's personal bodyguard, teacher, advisor, and now strategist. He was well known and his hat, along with the rest of his traditional ensemble would stand out anywhere.

So, what was he doing here then? And who was that woman...? She had black hair, and she was on the taller side of average...

And it suddenly clicked. The queen had been missing for quite some time now. And she looked a little different. And it only made sense if this woman was the queen for Urahara to be escorting her. And...had they just come from the docks? Urahara was supposed to be at the king's side down in Atsuria. So, had he just come from there? With the queen? Did that mean that the queen had been in Atsuria too? What was going on?

A crowd began to form. Urahara's vigilance began to pay off. He saw that people were getting curious so he muttered to the queen to follow his lead. He ducked into a side street and then took an alley that lead onto another main road. From the main road, they hurried their pace as more people turned to stare. Urahara knew these streets fairly well, or too well. He'd been down here many a time. He briskly turned into yet another side road and marched down it quickly. Karin kept up easily.

It was obvious that they wouldn't make it to the palace without being surrounded by the citizens at this rate. What could they do?

An idea popped into the blond man's head and he looked up with determination. The police station was possibly just a block or two away. "Can you run?" He asked over his shoulder.

Karin raised a dark eyebrow. "Can I _run_? 'Course I can." She snorted. He had to remind himself that he was dealing with the sister of one his most impulsive students. And he knew that Ichigo and Karin were more than a _little_ alike. The thought brought a grin to his face. "Hai. We'll have to bolt towards to police station, your majesty." He said curtly. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about such things. He had to get the queen home and immediately return to Atsuria.

He immediately began to run.

Karin followed his lead, not understanding how on earth he was able to run in those clogs, and he ran fast too. But she managed to keep pace. She'd been looking after her health these past years. She always had. She was physically very fit. And the pains of war had shown her that if you weren't fit at all, you wouldn't make it.

They received a few odd looks but apparently, the news hadn't spread around yet, or if it had, then people were too amazed to actually do anything about it.

They made it to the police station without incident. Urahara burst through the doors and several lounging officers looked up. They then jolted up to their feet and bowed. "Urahara-san!"

"Good afternoon." Urahara said calmly.

"Urahara-san, weren't you down at the frontline?" One of the officers, noticeably one of the superiors, asked in quiet shock.

"Yes, I was but I was given orders to escort the queen home."

It was only then that they all turned their attention to Urahara's travelling companion. Their eyes widened in shock. And then they all bowed fell to their knees.

Karin sighed. "It's all right. You may rise." She hadn't been treated like a queen in so long and she hadn't really missed it. She liked being normal but being the wife of Toushirou Hitsugaya was anything but ordinary.

"Hai." They all slowly rose to their feet and then looked questioningly at Urahara.

"Her majesty Karin-sama has been at the frontline every since she first disappeared." He informed with a bored drawl. Karin hid a smirk. That type of speech really didn't suit him. No wonder he didn't like it. He was always polite but in those moments, he sounded sarcastic. He sounded scary when he was serious.

The officers looked like their eyes couldn't possibly get any wider. "S-Seriously?!"

"Yes." Karin spoke up before Urahara could. "Now, can someone please escort us to the palace? The townspeople seem to be noticing my return and getting through them is going to be rather tough for just Urahara and I."

The police men all gathered their wits about them and the one in charge nodded. "Hai, as you wish, your highness." They all bowed again and the leader bid them, politely, to follow him. They did so and a while later, they emerged outside. There was a carriage with the police force insignia on the side. The officer took his position at the front and took the reins. Urahara opened the door for Karin and she hopped inside. He followed suit and closed the door behind him.

The ride was silent.

When they got to the palace, Urahara and Karin jumped out and the latter thanked the policeman. She was about to turn around when she remembered something. "Oh, and if people are curious, as they no doubt will be, tell em the truth. I was in Atsuria with the king...I..." she looked down and her hand absently went to rest on her stomach but she quickly dropped it. "...I thoughtlessly became a field nurse." She looked up to see the officer frowning at her. When she looked at him though, he immediately straightened his expression out and awkwardly bowed from his perch.

"As you wish, your highness."

Urahara narrowed his eyes. Why would she want people to know that she had been with the king? He had thought that she'd want to keep it a secret. But the way she'd put that hand to her stomach had been rather telling.

"Well, thank you again. Goodbye." She smiled at the man and then turned around and began to walk towards the door. Urahara also nodded his head in thanks and then followed the queen. The police officer immediately pulled on the reins and started down the pathway.

* * *

_To my queen,_

_Urahara told me that you arrived back home without incident, for that I am glad. I hope you haven't been attempting to run away again; just the thought makes me rather uncomfortable. I hope everything's all right. Okaa-sama was been writing to let me know that everything in the home country is running smoothly. _

_I have now regained the use of my right hand, which I immediately put to work by writing this letter. The nurses say it'll be a while before I can move it around as freely as I used to so I have to wait a while before I can join the battle again. This might mean that I shall be able to send letters more frequently to you for the time being._

_But enough about me for the moment, my queen, how are you? I'm sure that after the experiences of the battlefield, home seems like paradise. I bid you enjoy it. I never wanted you to see such horrible wounds or so much blood. I wished so hard that I'd imagined you being here. It puts me ill at ease to think of what you went through during your time here and I never want to repeat something like that again._

_On a less pessimistic note, Urahara has informed me that we are finally leaving a mark on Aizen's forces. We're getting all our backups in there and it seemed to have helped and Urahara still has that enigmatic plan of his to carry out. He ensures me that he is getting his "special troops" ready for battle._

_Watch the country for me, my queen._

_I love you._

_Yours always, Toushirou Hitsugaya_

* * *

Karin didn't know how many times she'd have to be apprehended by the crowds whenever she went outside. She hated it but she couldn't blame them. They were so curious about what she'd done in her time in Atsuria and what the king's health had been like. Journalists kept bombard her with questions upon questions and she answered as well as she could.

Pretty soon, more exciting news got out. The queen was expecting. It was all over the news because the maids of the palace always discussed it when they went back home to their families. They had to help the queen, after all. They all knew what went on in the palace and they mostly kept it to themselves but all of them were happy for the queen so they shared it.

After a while, because of the continuous onslaught of townsfolk and news people, Karin decided to stop going out for the "walks" that she usually took around town with Orihime. It wasn't like she needed to anyway; she could request anything she wanted and it'd be brought to her straightaway. There were servants waiting on her, after all.

But it was a bit of a challenge because she still wanted to go and visit her sister and sister-in-law. Yuzu had been staying with Rukia these past years so at least the two of them weren't alone but Karin wanted so much to go and join them. Since there was no getting past all the crowds without the aid of some bodyguards or such, and she didn't like going to her previous home with other people, she decided to don a guise and ride Isamu there by herself. She even got a dirty-blond wig for the occasion and a "peasant" dress.

It was easy after that. The townspeople put too stock in appearances of nobility and royalty and here she had thought that, with the war and death always looming, people would learn a thing or two about humanity. She had hoped that the class differences wouldn't really matter but she'd been wrong.

* * *

_Toushirou,_

_I haven't run away again. I had learnt my lesson after we met in Atsuria and I promised that I would never be so thoughtless again. I apologise for being so selfish. Everything here is fine. The servants and maids celebrate each day in the palace for the allies' finally gaining some leeway. _

_Congratulations, you should be proud; a lot of your troops are out there and you did your immense share too. I'm so proud of you, my king, but I'd rather you were back here with me all the same._

_Everything here is fine. Everyone is getting along without causing any kinds of trouble, for which I am grateful. _

_I am well. Even though the experiences that I had as a field nurse were sometimes upsetting and sometimes made me want to vomit, I am grateful that I got to witness firsthand the horrors of war. I do not regret becoming a nurse and I am even allowed to help out in the palace nurse's office sometimes, for which I am grateful. I like to apply the skills that I learnt as much as possible, even though the palace staff seem to have injuries that do not even begin to compare those of the soldiers out there._

_The country is fine and everybody is eagerly anticipating the arrival of another Hitsugaya. The newspapers can't seem to get enough; I'm swarmed every time I dare to go outside. I'm three months pregnant now, Toushirou. If it all goes well, we'll be parents. I'm so happy, Toushirou! I hope this child will get a chance at life._

_Orihime saw the scrapbook with all the pictures so she keeps taking loads of shots of me. It's getting faintly annoying but she keeps reminding me that it'll be for your benefit for when you come back home. So I let her keep at it because I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss a moment of your child's life. Come back soon, Toushirou._

_Love always, Karin._

When Hitsugaya got the news, all thoughts of the war and the current situation faded from his mind. He was going to have a child! They were finally going to have a baby! He was so happy when he read the letter that he shocked Urahara by grinning widely when the man came to tell him about a new development. Whatever this development was, it was put on hold because Hitsugaya was feeling so joyous at the moment.

"What is it, my lord?" He asked, pulling his hat down over his eyes and frowning in puzzlement beneath the brim of it. The king was clutching a letter in his hand and the grin that rarely made an appearance clicked in Urahara's mind and a small knowing smile spread across his face. "Ah, I see."

Hitsugaya stopped short and frowned. "What d'ya mean, you see?"

Urahara shrugged and turned around towards the door of the room. "Congratulations, your majesty."

"Whoa, hold on a second." Hitsugaya hurried went up to the blond man and a hold of the back of his uniform, rather roughly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Urahara sighed and turned around. "You're going to have a child. There are ways of getting news of the current situation back at the home country, sire. It's pretty common knowledge that the queen is expecting at the moment and the new batches of soldiers brought this news down."

"Why wasn't I informed of this sooner?!" Hitsugaya snapped, by now thoroughly annoyed that he was the last one to know. He would have bet that even Ichigo knew of this, though Hitsugaya didn't even know where the bright-haired man was these days.

Urahara shrugged. "Since I'm the only one who comes down here, I thought I'd wait for Karin-sama to write to you herself. I'm sure you would have been much happier if you'd heard...read it from your own wife."

Hitsugaya sighed and then a question suddenly popped into his mind and his eyes narrowed. "Does everyone know about Karin becoming a nurse? Nobody questioned whether the child was legit or not, right?" He felt quiet terror at the thought of what could be happening to Karin back at home if people suspected that she'd borne the child of another man, since the king had not been in the country for over two years. It was two and a half years now.

Urahara smiled widely. "No, it's fine. Karin-sama was not able to quite escape detection on the high street since the queen mother made sure that everybody knew and the news was passed around when we hitched a lift from a police officer." Urahara had not discussed the happenings of the king's wife's return home during the three months since she'd left and the king had merely asked if the trip had gone well, to which Urahara had simply replied that it had.

Hitsugaya breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank goodness for that_, he thought. Karin really worried him sometimes.

He went back to lie on his bed and read over the letter again. Urahara turned back to the door but was halted a second time. "Oh, and if there's ever news of the queen among the new soldiers, do let me know."

The blond strategist turned around and bowed with his customary grin. "Hai, hai, no need to be so suspicious!" He exited the room.

Once the door shut behind him, Hitsugaya let the smile spread out again as he read through his wife's letter.

Would it be a boy or a girl? What name would he pick if it was a boy? Ken? Kaito, after his father? Hikaru, maybe? Ichirou? But that sounded far too close to Ichigo and the bright-haired man would probably boast about it, knowing him. But what if it was a girl? What would he name her? Kimi? Kaori? Mai? Kaede? Whether it would be a boy or girl, he deduced, it would start with "k". He just liked the sound of a name beginning with "k".

But...what if fate ripped this child from them too? What if she had another miscarriage? He prayed with all his might that it wouldn't be so. He didn't know how he'd deal with that but it would be so much tougher for Karin. During the last three miscarriages she'd had, she'd been so broken. Ever since her niece had been born, she'd been looking forward to being a mother because she had always been charmed by Hisana. He couldn't bear it if something like a miscarriage were to happen again. She'd been depressed for so long after each miscarriage and it'd passed onto him too until his mother had sorted the two of them out.

All he could do was pray.

* * *

Hitsugaya was, judging by the information in his latest letters, getting better. He'd be heading back to battle soon. She sighed. Who knew, in the time that lapsed while he had written this letter and she'd read it, he'd possibly already be back on the battlefield. Her stomach churned at that. She did not like that idea one bit. He'd said he was glad though. He'd been sat in that one room for a good few months and it hadn't gone anything for him. He'd been extremely bored aside from when Urahara had come and given him the details of what was happening and what the other authorities wanted him to do. And he devised strategies but Karin knew he'd rather be out where the action was. His want to be on the battlefield was tangible in all his letters. He had stated that he hated inaction the most and he was the king so he would have had a lot to do had he not been bedridden. His recovery had been slow and unremarkable. Nothing happened for the downed soldiers in those makeshift hospitals.

She stood up and went to look out of the window of her bedroom. She looked out over the little houses of the town, emitting their little golden glows from their windows in this darkening evening. Most of those women and girls out there had fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, or lovers who were currently on the frontline. Some of them had died already. Some had been hurt terribly. As much as her heart went out to those women, she knew she was a little dishonest in her empathy, for she was glad that her soldier, her husband, her beloved, was not hurt that bad and he was safe...for the moment.

She was immensely worried about her brother too. Rukia, in these past two and something years, had not received one letter from her husband. Every time Karin went down to the Kurosaki place, Hisana would question about her father endlessly and it almost broke Karin's heart. At least she'd heard from Hitsugaya; where the hell was Ichigo?

She knew she was being selfish; Ichigo and Jinta, Yuzu's husband, had been completely out of touch with their wives these past couple of years and Karin had her attention fixed wholeheartedly on Hitsugaya. If something had happened to them, the respective families would have gotten word of it so the women could only take comfort in the fact that they were still out there somewhere.

Karin almost resented her brother; he meant so much to her, to his entire family, but he'd not been in touch. If (_no_, she corrected herself, _when_) he came back home, he would get a heavy beating from his wife. He deserved it. In her worry of Hitsugaya, she'd not looked in any other direction, not looked for any clues as to what was happening, but now that she knew her husband was safe for the moment, she could only ponder at her brother's whereabouts.

They were all mixed up in Urahara's plan for them but she'd not had the chance to ask the man what was happening because the time that she'd had with him had been predominantly focused on Hitsugaya.

She sighed and the hand free of the letter went to rest on her stomach. She had a child growing in there. It was so amazing. There was already a bulge and every little development made her feel even more excited. She was bearing the child of the man she loved! She was going to, hopefully, watch this child grow from a baby, to an infant, and an adolescent and then into adulthood. She could not get over how marvellous such an idea seemed. She was bearing a child! It was so unbelievable. It was almost magical!

And what would complete it would be to have the child's father by her side. She would take lots of photos of the child from when it would be born and through its early life, as much as Hitsugaya missed, so she could show him the collection when he finally returned home...to his family. She couldn't wait.

She prayed every day that her wish would come true...and that she would have this child instead of losing it like she had the first three times.

"Little baby," she mumbled softly, speaking to the unborn babe, "hang in there, okay? Please live...for the sake of this family...please..." she stroked her belly softly. _Toushirou...I have a good feeling about this one._ She thought with a small smile.

* * *

Karin, despite being a benevolent queen, hadn't often made it out that she was kind. She had spoken to all the maids and servants like she had with everyone else; gruffly and very much like a commoner.

But it seemed her pregnancy softened her up a little. She always walked around with a smile on her face and it seemed that the bigger her stomach got, the more serene her smile. The maids were all happy for her and even they were excited as the pregnancy went on. Orihime seemed to have a camera at the ready at all times and was constantly taking pictures. The queen mother found it immensely amusing.

Karin spent a huge amount of time in the library these days, researching books on childcare and motherhood. She spent a lot of her time reading, for want of something better to do. She was into the seventh month of pregnancy now and the war was nearing its third year.

The situation was, according to Hitsugaya's infrequent letters and the news, that the war was decidedly going in their favour. Apparently, more "special forces" were coming into the mix and the battle was being won. Karin knew, by way of Hitsugaya, that the "special forces" were actually rigorously trained soldiers who also had potential for the forbidden arts. Urahara, according to Hitsugaya, had various people scatted across the world that were knowledgeable and adept at working the forbidden arts and so he had them stand in as trainers for those soldiers who had forbidden arts potential. It was all very complex to Karin. Apparently, this plan had been in existence from the beginning of the war but because _those_ soldiers hadn't had proper training before the war, they had no choice but to take their time.

Karin didn't think on it too much. She'd figured that her brother was among them. He had been approached by Urahara. She'd ask him one day what he'd done during the war. It'd be interesting to see if he'd developed something like superhuman powers or stuff like that. It would be incredible! But something told her it'd be more like what she'd seen on her wedding day all those years ago, when she'd shamefully (in her opinion) been knocked out for three weeks straight due to some evil demon or ghoul that had possessed her sister-in-law. That was what the forbidden arts were; dark magic and they were forbidden for a reason.

It was because all the tales of how the forbidden arts swept across the world decades ago had all come from across the Border Divide. The Border Divide was a dangerous marker to cross; beyond it lay things of raw power and greed, like Aizen and his zombie army. But she had to admit, they had to be more flexible if people wanted to get somewhere; Urahara was, according to what she'd heard from Hitsugaya, adept in those arts and he was still a good guy, albeit a questionable good guy.

She shut the book she was reading and stood up, ready to take it back to the shelf where she'd got it but she froze when she felt something in her stomach.  
Her hand tentatively went to rest upon her rather large bump and, after a few seconds, she felt that "something" again. "Oh!" She waited a few more seconds but that seemed to be it. She let her hand fall to her side and a smile spread across her face again. _It kicked! It kicked for the first time_! She thought joyously. She hurriedly put the book back and scuttled out of the library, having the sudden urge to tell someone about this new experience. It was just too good a thing to keep to herself! She had to find her Orihime (her friend with whom she now shared everything)!

* * *

Sorry for any errors. I didn't bother to proofread this either and thank you to all ye who reviewed. I'm depressed. This story is making me depressed, horribly so. I'm going to stop writing fanfics and try to get my career as a writer on track. Though I have to thank this site immensely because without it, my writing woulf still be an embarrasment. It'd improved a lot since I started putting my stories up here.


	30. Part II: Twins

As promised, the last chapter :D I'm sorry for those of you who were anticipating an update for Drifting, Irresistable, and Beloved; I have a LOT of work to do on them yet :(

Aizen was starting to retaliate hard and he was starting to advance again. Urahara decided that he'd bring out his plan at this moment.

Each division of the infantry and the navy had new platoons sit in among the soldiers. These platoons were made up of "special" kinds of soldiers or sailors. These combatants were Urahara's selected "apprentices" from around the world. They were the ones who had a high combat ability and second sight, which allowed them to study in the forbidden arts. The knowledge of the forbidden arts was something that everybody feared but all the captains, colonels, generals, or majors had been informed that if they really wanted to win this war, then the only solution was to dig into the forbidden arts and pull out their trump cards.

Obviously, to gain such an inhuman army, Aizen himself indulged in the forbidden arts but he came from beyond the border divide; who knew what went on over there? These zombie soldiers of his could very well be the ordinary citizens of the lands beyond the border divide. It was an odd thought.

But even with the arrival of these new soldiers, there was still a problem. Ships from all over the world that were aiding in the war that were carrying weapons for the allies were being destroyed and firearms were in short supply. But even Aizen's forces were getting low on ammunition and arms. This was a disaster. So both had to rely, for the moment, solely on the forbidden arts and it was a hectic battle.

Even though every regiment contained a platoon, or sometimes a whole company, specifically trained to block or attack with forbidden magic, they were far outnumbered. Every single one of the Arrancar soldiers was capable of handling magic; it was a requirement for joining Aizen's army.

Hitsugaya didn't know what do to. Ammunition was running out. Soldiers were dying every day. But they were starting to leave a mark on Aizen's forces now. Urahara had prepared more than one mere batch of special soldiers. Every day, more of those "special" soldiers came out of training and readied themselves among the ranks.

They'd learned from various hostages that they'd taken a hold of that the Arrancar were every bit under strain as the humans. This couldn't go on.

If they kept up with the production of these special soldiers, then they'd stand a chance. But at any one time, it was just limited to one platoon or company to a battalion and that was only a few hundred to a division. It wasn't a lot, in the bigger picture.

But at least they were leaving a mark. Several countries were participating in this so they had the sufficient amount of numbers so they would still get to the enemy.

If the worst came worst, they would have to face their enemies as they cut them down across no-man's-land, with bayonets. That, if possible, should be avoided. It was horrific to think they'd have to watch their opponents die or for the face of their enemy to be the last thing they saw on this world. It was somewhat depressing.

Eventually, it _would_ come to that when the two sides reached the third year of the war but, for the moment, they could think and pray that it would be otherwise.

* * *

Karin was eight months into pregnancy. The letters from Hitsugaya were getting less frequent; he had gone back to the battle quite some time ago. She couldn't tell him as often as she'd have liked about what was happening during the pregnancy.

It was looking promising. Before now, her pregnancy had never lasted this long. She didn't know if she should hope or not. What if it ended up as a stillborn? She'd be devastated. But she couldn't help feeling happy; she'd made this far and she could still _feel_ the life in there. She was so excited.

Rukia had gotten her first letter from Ichigo, nearly three years into the war. Of course, she didn't let on that she'd been immensely upset by it. Ichigo had justified himself by saying that he'd been in intensive training under Urahara's "school of the forbidden arts", which was run by people who somehow knew Urahara, and no one in there was allowed to do anything except train continuously so he'd not been allowed to write. He'd been approached by the blond man before the war began and he'd been asked if he'd participate and Ichigo had said yes straightaway. Rukia was angry when 

she read this but she had bravely forced down her anger. Karin didn't know whether the petite woman was mad at her husband or Urahara.

But at least Rukia was glad that Ichigo wasn't lying in a ditch somewhere, rotting away. Hisana had been overjoyed to hear from her father. She was almost five now and she kept inquiring about her father all the time. Karin wondered what the little girl remembered about Ichigo. She'd only been two years old when he'd left. But she could probably see pictures so she'd at least know what he looked like. And no one could forget Ichigo's spiky bright hair; it was exactly the same as Hisana's own.

But even though there was happiness in the air, it still didn't mean it was over. Rukia now had more reason to be worried; her husband would be fighting in the frontline now.

Karin remembered the time when she'd been called Cinderella back in the time when Rukia and Ichigo had first come back from abroad. She wouldn't have minded being called that name now; at least Cinderella got her happily ever after. All the females around Karin, and Karin herself, were all so unsure about what the future held. Some were already grieving; their happily ever after had been snatched cruelly away without a moment's hesitation.

Karin found herself praying every day, for the sake of her husband and her brother.

She didn't want to give birth to a child who would have no father. It was even painful to think about it. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to for long.

* * *

She was in the presence of Matsumoto when the telltale signs of labour appeared. Matsumoto immediately called on some maids and they all led the pregnant woman to the nurse's room. She was laid down on a bed and everyone was put to work, getting warm water, towels, and everything else that the nurse deemed fit.

Orihime heard the news and came quickly on the behest of the queen mother. She lingered around the nurse, wondering what she could possibly do to help. She was told that she should just comfort the queen so she did.

Matsumoto was sitting on one side of the bed and Orihime on the other, both tightly clutching the queen's hands. Karin's gaze was frantic but she was careful not to let her straight face slip.  
"It's okay, Karin-sama." Matsumoto said soothingly. "Everything will be fine."

"Yeah..." the dark-haired girl muttered in agreement. "I'll be fine..."

Matsumoto gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

When the time finally came, Matsumoto had to clamp her free hand over her mouth in order to muffle her own gasp of pain; Karin had far too much strength for a female who only had a slight build. She was squeezing the blond woman's hand like there was no tomorrow. On the other side of the bed, Orihime was trying not to show her grimace of pain but she wasn't succeeding. Karin's expression was strained and twisted. She looked like she was going to scream but she was too proud to do that in front of all these people. She was refusing to let the pain out as she followed the nurse's gentle instruction to push. Sometimes, Matsumoto thought the girl had too much pride for her own good but she was the queen; she had to have some pride. But it was as if all of Karin's pride was set in the completely wrong direction.

If Matsumoto had learnt anything about the queen the three years before the war started, it was that the girl _abhorred_ acting like a typical female. She disliked elegant dresses, she hated makeup, and she loathed sitting around doing nothing, which was apparently what was expected of her as a queen. Sometimes, against all protests from the staff, she cleaned up or took care of Isamu.

She was a fond animal lover, which she had described was because of her twin sister. Yuzu Kurosaki (now Hanakari) was an extremely naive woman and she believed the best of everyone and she was the gentlest creature in the world and she loved animals. Since Karin had come into the palace, the Hitsugayas had purchased a talking parrot, a female horse, and a cat. The cat was always running about the palace and absolutely refused to stay by Karin's side.

Matsumoto had gone with Hitsugaya and Karin once (for the sake of the queen, in case she needed some advice on what to do in certain "public" situations) when they'd gone to a zoo. Hitsugaya had jokingly asked Karin if she'd wanted to buy one of the tigers there, because she'd been so fixated, and Matsumoto would have sworn that she saw the girl's eyes light up but she'd humbly turned down the offer.

That had all been before the war came and started to rip people apart, literally and figuratively. Matsumoto was also waiting for someone to come back but, in the mean time, she tried to put up a brave front and not let others see that she was upset. After all, what use would it do? Every woman had her own problems to deal with in this troubled nation.

It was a good long while before Karin couldn't hold it in anymore and screamed. After six hours, the birth was only half complete.

"There's another one coming!" The nurse said after handing the first baby, a boy, to one of the maids.

Matsumoto took advantage of the moment and slipped her sore hand out of Karin's grasp and replaced it with her other one. She winced as she flexed it. It really hurt. It felt like it was broken. This was going to ache for quite a while. Orihime was also relieving her agonised hand. And now they had to have the same treatment so the other hand. Who knew how long this was going to take. Matsumoto's body was going stiff from sitting in one position for too long. This was even worse than sitting silently through an exam; she couldn't move too much because she was restricted by the hand that Karin held. And more was to come.

"Y-you...guys..." Karin said amid breaths, "...you guys...can go...if you want..." a layer of sweat was covering her forehead and little drops were rolling into her eyebrows and into her eyes. She let go of Matsumoto's hand and swiped the back of it over her brows.

Before she even got her breath back, the agony came again. Matsumoto and Orihime were in the middle of telling her that they didn't mind but she didn't hear them as she started to strain again.

Three hours later, it was all over. The babies were taken away to be washed. The news was announced. A great feast was immediately prepared and guests were invited. Karin was elated (when she came around).

There was one girl and one boy. They were fraternal twins. The boy had black hair and green eyes and the girl had white hair and grey eyes (from Hitsugaya's mother; she would probably grow up to look like Chikako).

Karin's heart was racing as she took both infants into her arms. To think that she had given birth to these two beautiful children! This was incredible! They'd been wailing until their mother picked them up and then they suddenly stopped and looked up at her in wonder.

Karin knew it would have embarrassed her during any other time but she couldn't hold back the tears this time. She finally had children! After being married for six years, she finally had children! And they were beautiful...

Orihime was busy taking pictures with a grin that threatened to divide her face into two. Matsumoto stood by, smiling at the scene. If only the king were here; this moment would be priceless. Of course, it was already priceless but Matsumoto wondered what kind of look Hitsugaya would have had in his eyes as he looked down at the babies. Would it have been guarded and cold as usual? She didn't think so. Such a sight was enough to move even the hardiest of men.

Karin's eyes were, unusually, overflowing with moisture and her expression was one that Matsumoto was sure would never be seen again; this was her first time looking at her own children. She was a mother now and she looked so happy. Some of the maids were crying heartily but smiling at one another nonetheless. This would be a joyous occasion to relate to their families once they all went to visit their homes.

Chikako came bursting energetically into the room some time later, an open smile gracing her ageless beauty. Karin looked up and there seemed to be a nanosecond of understanding flashing between the two of them, which would allow them to get closer. They got on well but there had been limits (like the fact that Chikako was strict when it came to "being ladylike" and Karin was anything but a lady at heart) but this event would draw them closer. They were both mothers now, they both shared that experience.

And then it was gone. The aging (though she wasn't actually that old; she was about forty-one years old) and majestic queen mother sat down next to her daughter-in-law and Karin handed one of the twins over. Everyone politely filed out of the room to give the two a "family" moment.

* * *

The picture showed his wife cradling two infants in the crook of each arm. He'd already heard the news from Urahara weeks ago, when new soldiers brought in fresh rumours and other information from home. This picture was probably from that time too. That meant that his children were already more than a month old. He was so happy but he also felt like he was missing out a lot. Karin had said in her letter that she'd be sure to capture their _every_ day on camera so he wouldn't miss out and he was grateful for that but who knew how long it would be before he saw the twins in person?

Who knew if he'd even make it alive out of the war?

So far, he'd been over-the-top with his gun blazing quite a few times and he'd miraculously come back without any major injuries, just a few cuts and bruises here and there. But how long would that luck last? What if, one of these days, he went up onto no-man's-land along with all his other soldiers when the order would be issued but he never came back alive? What if he took a hit in his vital areas and lost too much blood, or if he got shot right in the head, or right in the heart? What if he lay rotting away up there like so many other soldiers had in the past? There were rotting bodies up there, from battles that had occurred these past years. It was horrible if you chanced to see one. They were sometimes even visible from the trenches and it was sickening.

But what if he ended up like that? He'd never get to see his mother again, he'd never get to see Karin again, and he'd never get to see his offspring. The idea made his stomach churn in discomfort.

But he had to look on the bright side; at least now he had an heir. Even if he were to die, there were several other kingdoms involved in this war and they would make sure to hold up the peace of the allies and then Aizen would no longer be a threat and his kingdom would continue to flourish under the watchful eye of some steward until his son reached the right age. And he'd have backup by his sister. At least the boy wouldn't be alone, like Hitsugaya had been, through his childhood.

Those thoughts set him back on track. Even if something were to happen to him, his family would be all right and that was all he could ask for.

Now, he had names to suggest for his children on his wife's order.

* * *

"Preferably something beginning with "K"? Kaede and Kai?" Karin read aloud to herself. She frowned. _Talk about random_, she thought. He'd dropped the names out of nowhere. "Shiki and Haruhi. Shiki and Sora. Shiki and Kaori. Shiki and Kaede. Shou and Sora, for the girl's name? Or Takeshi and Kimiko. Or Shiki and Kimiko. Kenji and Mitsuko. Itsuki and Sora. Shiki and Murasaki. Sheesh..." there were a lot of others. Half the letter was made up of suggestions for names. She finished reading the rest of it and then looked over the names again. He seemed particularly keen on Shiki and Sora. She'd had some ideas of her own but she'd decided that she'd go with whatever Hitsugaya chose, which would give the twins some connection with their father before he returned.

She walked over to the crib beside her bed and looked down at the sleeping babies. An unconscious smile played upon her lips. They looked so peaceful. Only minutes before, they'd been wailing at the top of their lungs and she'd needed Matsumoto's assistance in calming them down.

She was getting the hang of it now and she needed less assistance than she had at first. Rukia and Yuzu had come over quite a few times to help out. She'd said that she wanted to take care of them herself, without having to call of the maids all the time and now that was actually beginning to look like a promising idea. Sometimes, she'd thought she'd lose it. It was so stressful looking after the two of them at the same time but she was proud that she'd managed to refute all help (aside from Matsumoto or Orihime's occasional assistance).

Having to look after twins was exhausting work. It was at times like this that Karin especially wished Hitsugaya was around; at least he could share half the pain of motherhood. But despite all the sleepless nights, fatigue, low morale, smelliness (for which she constantly had to keep bathing and changing her clothes, because she was a _queen_), and the general slowing down of life, she was happy. She was finally a mother after all! What wasn't there to be happy about? Aside from all the aches and pains, parenthood was great!

She let out a deep breath and turned on her heel. She'd have to start replying to Hitsugaya now, while she still had a free moment. As she spun around, however, her bare foot caught on one of the legs of the chair (which she'd conveniently placed right beside the crib). A rather sharp yelp of pain escaped her lips as she stumbled and fell with a rather heavy thud. "Oof!" She immediately sat up and put her hand over her mouth. _Shit!_ She thought.

The twins were oddly light sleepers...for merely two month old babies. First, the boy (newly named Shiki) would cry and the girl (Sora) would follow suit only a few moments behind. The wailing immediately began. Karin smacked her forehead in exasperation. _There goes my chance at writing a reply!_ She thought. She stood up and reached into the crib and expertly pulled out both children and nestled them in her arms._ Sorry, Toushirou; my reply's going to have to wait_. She sank down onto her bed with a heavy sigh. The twins continued to wail.

* * *

She'd named the twins Shiki and Sora. He felt inwardly happy that she'd chosen the names he'd suggested. Every letter that he received from his wife was like his break from the war. Every letter let him drift off into his "happy place", where thoughts of the war were far, far away. This "happy place" was in the light that Karin had created in his heart, where it was all about her. He wished he could go there more often but matters of the war did not let him do such a thing but he could take a tiny break when he received one of these letters.

There was another picture enclosed with the letter, which showed the twins at about two and a half months old. Of course, because of the distance and the amount of time it took to get letters from Atsuria to his country (or vice versa) delivered, they were about three months old now. He stared at the picture a long while as he sat on his makeshift "bed" in the dugout.

His heart hurt, even though his exterior remained cool and collected. How long would it be before he got to see his family again? When would the damned war end? Would he get killed? The idea of not seeing his loved ones before his time came was greatly saddening but the fact that his fate was so obscure was just maddening. He hated this war! He wanted to end it and spare everyone back at home and the soldiers all grief but he couldn't! Well...he could, but that would mean that he cared nothing for the peace that the allied nations had been living in before. It would mean that he would be prepared to lose the freedom and honour of his citizens and no honest king could do such a thing.

As much as this war was crushing both him and his men, he couldn't pull out because he wanted the peace that had reigned before Aizen's arrival as much as every other country. And as sad as it was, hundreds (or thousands or millions) of men from his country sacrificing their lives for the billions of souls that inhabited his home was something that he had to let happen for "the greater good". It was terrible but he had to be diplomatic about this. He was a king, after all, so he had to think like one, no matter how much his inner humanitarian cried out in protest. He had to be cold towards the deaths of his soldiers. He had to pretend that everything was okay and that he was fine.

_Shiki and Sora_...he thought with a small smile. They were his kids. His mind had often wandered to them these past weeks and he could not believe it. He was a father! But he didn't exactly get a lot of time to revel in that fact because the war took away all his happy thoughts and occupied his mind most of the time.

Now that he had a spare moment, he wondered what they looked like in colour. The black and white picture didn't offer any clues but Karin had said that the one with the darker shade of hair was the boy and the one whose hair wasn't shaded was the girl. Shiki had black hair and Sora had white hair, like him. How were they getting along? Did Karin get any sleep at night?

...Would they wonder about their father if he never came back? Would they hate him if he died in this war? Would he _ever_ see them in person? Would he ever see Karin or his mother again?

He realised with a searing ache in his heart that he didn't want to die. But he'd prepared himself, he'd made his peace with the world, he'd thought through everything and taken care of everything in case he didn't make it back to the home country (like who the steward would be until Shiki became old enough to be the king), and in every letter to his mother, he bid her goodbye and told her that he was really grateful to have had her in his life. He'd forced himself to prepare for death. What else could he do? It would have reflected badly on him if he got killed in battle without having done anything for his country at all. He was glad he'd got to see Karin one more time, during the time that he'd gotten shot and he knew she wouldn't be alone now.

But suddenly he felt like he was out of his depth. He felt that the idea of dying now would be too horrific. He wanted to see his children, if only once. He wanted to see them and set his heart at ease. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to let go of his family. He thought it was pathetic and he was disgusted in himself but he couldn't deny that the one thing he wanted at this moment in time was to see his two beautiful children.

_Damn it_...he thought as he fell back onto his "bed". He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the earthen ceiling of the dugout. _This isn't supposed to be happening! I've made my peace, why must it be broken_? It wasn't reasonable at all. He'd tried so hard to put up the walls that let him behave stoically towards anything and everything but in the face of this little revelation, they were all crumbling away. He couldn't take this. War didn't choose the lives it took, it just took them. It didn't favour kings over peasants or veteran warriors over the conscripted soldiers. And it didn't favour any sides because both the allies and Aizen's forces were lying rotting on the trenches.

He felt such regret, regret that didn't belong there. He regretted not being there for his children at this moment. He regretted not seeing them. He regretted not being able to hold them in his arms. He regretted not being able to shower them with gifts or his affections...He regretted not being able to be a proper father.

If ever life had seemed cruel, that instant wouldn't have even begun to compare with his situation now. He suddenly felt very, _very_ lonely.

* * *

The numbers battles were dimming down. Loads of trenches on both sides caved in on themselves due to shells, entrapping the soldiers who didn't flee in time in graves where they would lie for the rest of eternity. The numbers were dimming down. The leaders of five countries from the allies had been massacred already, resulting in those countries pulling out of the war. But it wasn't all bad for the allies; due to the "special forces", they'd taken out hundreds of Aizen's officials.

Whole squads and platoons and companies had been taken out, resulting in heavy imbalance of the larger military units. Battalions were left with only half the soldiers they started out with. The toll that the war was taking on the soldiers was becoming more and more apparent through each day, after each battle or massacre. Many of the soldiers who had gone back home for leave and had started riots because they thought the war was pointless but they were beaten down by propaganda in the media. The officers' morale was reaching an all time low. It had been three years but there were still no signs of the war ending. Some people hadn't seen their families at all ever since the war began.

"Prepare!" Hitsugaya yelled, fixing his rifle's position so he was holding it more securely. They were going to go over the top tonight and they were going to engage in battle with the enemy. If only they knew where Aizen was, then they could kill him and have this war over and done with but, throughout the entire battlefield (which stretched alongside Atsuria into adjoining lands) for the whole duration of the war, the fabled "ruler of the lands past the border divide" had not made an appearance at all. All the Arrancar prisoners that had been taken over the years had given explanations of what this man looked like but he had yet to make an appearance. They all said that their leader would come when the war was nearing its final stages. He would come to take down all the kings who were taking part...and that only led to Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya was the only one left who was _actively_ taking part in the war. All the others who had agreed to fight were either dead or were going about "fighting" in indirect ways. Ukitake was in poor condition so his ailment didn't let him fight.

Hitsugaya wondered if he would ever see this enigmatic Aizen. Descriptions had been garnered from the captives; he had brown hair which was combed back flat over his head. That was all. Nothing more had been said so Hitsugaya assumed he was a rather plain looking fellow. Apparently, he was a human, which had been a revelation that had shocked Hitsugaya and the soldiers. He had gone across the border divide _centuries_ ago (which made people question as to how he could possibly be human) with a tiny bit of knowledge in the ominous forbidden arts (which, durin that time, weren't so forbidden) and then he'd somehow gotten more powerful and had begun his reign...until his army was big enough so that world domination seemed like an attainable goal.

There was a general clatter as men all along the line of the trench readied themselves at his order. Beside him, Urahara was looking as indifferent as usual. When Hitsugaya spoke to him, the man was always cheery. Did these circumstances really not affect the man at all? He could be a little less joyous all the time. His attitude really didn't make it seem as if he were participating in a _war_.

The men would place themselves before Hitsugaya as the rushed out over no-man's-land. He didn't like it but they were their orders and they'd not been given by him. It was just a rule that the king had to be protected at all costs. It sort of tore at Hitsugaya's heart that his men would so willingly give up their lives for him; they wanted him alive so that he could go back and run the country like a good leader and take care of the citizens. He would go back home and be the best ruler that his country had ever seen if he got back home.

He gave orders for the men to wait for the signal to go, and they could all hear the corresponding yells from across no-man's-land. This distance from the enemy was not great at all; they could _hear_ their enemy from where they stood.

All then it was time to go as the enemy reared their heads and yelled at the same time for the attack to begin.

_I'll make it out of this, Karin._ He thought fiercely as he shot up over the front of the trench and stepped onto no-man's-land. A tight scowl played across his lips and he clutched his rifle tight.

Pretty soon, the ground was soaking with the blood of dying soldiers and bullets shot through the air and even bayonets were put to use if the enemy came within range.

Urahara fought by the king's side the whole while. His attention was fixed intently on the white-haired man. He was doing all he could do deflect any bullets that were headed for the man. He stood out like a firework in a clear night sky; he was the king so everybody was aiming for it.

If it hadn't been for Urahara, Hitsugaya would be severely wounded. Urahara wouldn't gloat about this though; he had signed up and part of the job description was to protect the king's life by all means necessary. He had gotten aboard the boat of war with that thought in mind and he had always been ready to sacrifice himself in order for his king. As indifferent as he was the king's status, Urahara was a little bit proud of him. Hitsugaya had been, alongside Ichigo, one of Urahara's greatest pupils and he'd watched as the boy had grown to a fine young man and he couldn't have been any happier. Maybe he should settle down sometime soon and have a family too; he was beginning to wonder what it would feel like to have a son like Hitsugaya.

But then again, he liked the single life. He grinned briefly at the thought as he shot at an approaching Arrancar and got him right in the heart. He fired another shot just to be safe. The Arrancar fell and Urahara moved onto another opponent, all the while looking out for the king.

* * *

Sorry, I haven't proofread it. An I lied; this ain't the last chapter next chapters gonna be the last chapter, hopefully, even though I wanted this story to be finished BEFORE September. I really need a social life... :(


	31. Part II: Aizen's Deal

Meh, I didn't _quite_ get it finished before September but oh well! I hope you enjoy this! I tried so hard :( I hate trying hard, heh heh. Anyway, do review to let me know what you think. I don't think I'll get above 300 reviews altogether but it'd be nice if people showed their appreciation :D An y'all get a double update, come on!

* * *

How long would it be? Karin buried her face in her pillow and prepared to let her tears spill. She got so sad every time she thought on it. If she didn't have two babies to look after, she'd have long ago broken her promise which she'd made to Hitsugaya about not going back to Atsuria.

She missed him so much. It tore at her heart every time she thought about it, about him. Her heart couldn't take it. Every day, it felt as if it was breaking. She didn't have the kind of emotional durability that let her face her inner pain so confidently. His letters, infrequent as they were, were not enough to satiate the need she felt for him, to have him near. She had felt, in the beginning, that she would be fine as long as she got word of his health at least once every few months. She had thought that it would be okay and that she would be able to deal with his absence as long as she knew he was alive and well.

But her resolve had broken. Their children were now six months old. They were not yet old enough to know that someone was missing in their lives. All that really interested them at the moment was their food and the faces that they saw on a daily basis. They weren't old enough to know that their father was not with them. Karin had last seen her beloved one year and approximately three months ago. How much longer would she have to go through this until Hitsugaya came back or was reported dead? If Hitsugaya was killed during action, she didn't know what she'd do. Of course, if such a thing were to happen, then their country would be without a king for the next eighteen years, until Shiki became old enough to take on the title.

She shuddered at the possibility of Hitsugaya not coming back. What would she do? She didn't want to live in this big palace if she'd never see him again. As if she even liked living here! It felt so empty and uninhabited. She didn't like it but she was only holding out because she was praying with all her might that her husband would come back. But if he didn't return, then her life was as good as over. If the light in her life went out, she would, inevitably, plunge into the darkness. She couldn't survive without Hitsugaya. She didn't care if that was pathetic or not; her tough exterior only went so far. She depended on Hitsugaya a lot.

She fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

According to the information given by recent prisoners and calculating how many armies of the allies were left (or how much soldiers apiece those armies had left), it was apparent that the war wouldn't last much longer. Aizen had yet to put in an appearance. At least Aizen's forces were the ones getting downed now. The allies had suffered their fair share of damage over the last three years and Aizen had, as of the last few months, been showing a lot more strain than he previously had. He was beginning to get careless (either that or the allies were getting really good at fighting a zombie army).

It gave the human army some peace of mind to know that their comrades had not died in vain, and that they were, as of the last few months, beginning to leave a mark on their enemy. Previously, the enemy had had the advantage of numbers but since more and more kingdoms were joining the allies, that advantage had been lost. And then the Arrancar's supposed toughness and durability for pain was thwarted when Urahara's "special soldiers" came into the ranks and started to apply their knowledge of the forbidden arts.

The battles had been going in their favour for a good few months now. Hopefully, after three and a quarter years, the war would finally draw to a close. Not to mention, the ships that brought in munitions were still being targeted by Aizen's forces.

* * *

It was supposed to be just another order to go over-the-top. It was just supposed to be a regular bloodbath. It was just supposed to be the average battle of the Great War (which was what this war was coming to be known as). Who would have dreamed that it would have ended up as the deciding factor for the freedom of the allied nations? Who would have dreamed that this particular battle, which started off on the same dreary afternoon as every other battle, would either bring about the destruction of the free world or the slaughter of the one who threatened their peace?

As usual, the soldiers crowded around Hitsugaya and they all stepped foot on no-man's-land (preparing themselves for the very likely chance that they wouldn't come back alive) and waited for the order from the king to charge.

But the enemy, though gathered with their weapons held at the ready, did not move. Hitsugaya and Urahara were immediately on alert. "Be prepared to strike." The white-haired man called out to his men. Several rifles clicked in response as the men held their weapons out, ready to shoot.

Suddenly, the Arrancar that had gathered on the other side all parted and began to form two rows, facing one another. Hitsugaya watched, intrigued. What were they doing?

From amid the corridor of Arrancar soldiers, a lone man emerged. Hitsugaya and his company all stared. This man was tallish, with brown hair. Could it be...? But why now?

Hitsugaya and Urahara exchanged a glance from the corner of their eyes. Aizen, or whom they assumed to be Aizen, held his hand up in a gesture of peace. Urahara issued an order, "form rows! Let Hitsugaya-sama through."

Immediately, the men in front of Hitsugaya parted to let him through. Urahara walked before Hitsugaya as they approach the advancing brown-haired man. Beside him walked a dark-haired Arrancar with pale skin and strange tear-like green marking down his cheeks. Hitsugaya was wondering why on earth Aizen was showing himself now. What was he planning?

"Greetings, I assume you are King Toushirou Hitsugaya?" Aizen said, plastering an enigmatic smile on his face. To Hitsugaya, it looked evil. His dark eyes held a glint of something menacing as they caught the light and Hitsugaya didn't like it one bit.

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes but muttered a stiff response, "That's right. And you are?" The Arrancar beside Aizen stood stock still, his weapon pointed at Urahara should the blond man make any sudden moves. Urahara's rifle was likewise directed at the Arrancar.

"I am Sosuke Aizen. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The brown haired man extended a hand, his faint smile now exuding mockery. Urahara shifted uncomfortably beside him but Hitsugaya made no move to accept the gesture. His green eyes briefly flickered to the proffered hand but he did not shake it.

"I can't say the same." He retorted. "What do you want?" He had no reason to exchange pleasantries with the enemy. He would not converse with Aizen.

Aizen's mocking smile deepened a little and he retracted his hand. "I merely wished to talk. I have a proposition for you."  
Hitsugaya raised a white eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of proposition?"

"What say you we end this war right now?" Aizen said calmly.

"On what conditions?" Hitsugaya didn't believe the man's words for a second. Just how was he going to stop a whole war with just this one battle? He couldn't suddenly retract his soldiers in the middle of the fight. Was he a coward? Was that why he hadn't shown his face up until now?

"Well, you see, I have gotten tired of this plan of mine. It obviously isn't working out so I thought on it a little," the man's tone remained the same; calm, slightly sardonic, "and I came up with a solution. See, if we were to have a duel, just the two of us, then we could determine the outcome of this war without any more bloodshed. I'm sure that idea appeals do you, does it not?" The idea obviously didn't bother _him_. He looked like he'd not fought a battle at all yet. He looked awake, there were no circles under his eyes, and he wasn't even dressed in combat gear. He was wearing a white hakama with a matching kimono, held together at his waist by a wide dark, purple sash. He also wore a white robe.

"And what would you get out of this?" Hitsugaya asked suspiciously.

"Like I said, I have grown tired of this unproductive fighting. I believe I underestimated the power of mere humans," he laughed once and, despite his words, he sounded smug, "I had not expected the fighting to go on this long. I have been coming up with theories as to how long this will farther take and I came with the idea that a one-on-one duel should be perfect for a deciding factor, don't you agree?"

Hitsugaya considered his words a little. He wouldn't mind having a one-on-one duel to end it all, but...he was curious about something. "Why me?" He asked.

Aizen shrugged. "I suppose your division was the one that has produced the best results over these three years. According to the reports that I received, you were the most active one. I congratulate you; it's quite an achievement at your age."

"Whatever." Hitsugaya muttered. He did not want to hear praises from his enemy. Aizen was merely mocking him anyway.

"So, what do you say, Hitsugaya-san?" Aizen smiled his sardonic smile again. "Do you accept my challenge?"

"A one-on-one duel?"

"Yes."

"How...exactly? A shootout?" The white-haired man snorted.

"How about...a swordfight, to the death?" The brown-haired man suggested calmly.

Hitsugaya raised a white eyebrow again. "A swordfight, in these modern times?"

"But of course."

The white-haired king exchanged a glance with Urahara and the blond man shrugged. "Your call, sire. But something like this would require the attention of other officials, I should think."

"Right. But we don't have any time to alert them." Hitsugaya turned his attention back to his enemy. "And how do I know that you'll keep your word? How do I know that this isn't some back-stabbing plan of yours?"

"Oh, do give me some credit." Aizen smiled. "Just because I'm your enemy does not mean that I don't have standards that I live by. If I promise something, I shall keep my word."

The king sighed. "I can't exactly trust you. Prove it."

Aizen sighed too and brought his hand up and motioned for one of his soldiers to come up to him. "Stark, I wish for you to carry news of this as fast as possible throughout the whole army. Alert everyone to standby. It might take some time. If I lose this duel," he smirked, showing just how much he really believed in that outcome, "then tell them to retreat. The war is over, either way. If anyone decides to take action independently, then they will be killed."

"Yes sir," the black-haired Arrancar replied dutifully.

"Take a few soldiers with you. Go now."

"Hai, Aizen-sama." The Arrancar then spun on his heel and dragged out three other soldiers from the row and they sped away towards their own trenches.

"That doesn't really prove anything." Hitsugaya pointed out wearily. His apprehension of this situation was growing. He didn't trust Aizen. What if he suddenly started attacking? Hitsugaya had to stay alert.

"Well, it will have to do. And you have to give me your end of the deal." The enemy replied smoothly.

"Urahara," Hitsugaya muttered, keeping his gaze focused on the enemy.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Have the men on standby too. And also have some men go around and spread the news and make sure it gets to the capital. This duel will decide all. If I lose, the allies retreat."

Urahara looked apprehensive but he nodded anyway. "Hai."

So the arrangements were made. Aizen and Hitsugaya would wait a full week and a half for the news to reach all the armies participating in the war and then they would have their duel right where they stood at that moment. It would also give the two fighters sufficient time to procure the best possible swords.

* * *

The news of the coming duel spread quickly. Millions upon millions of hopefuls were now depending on Hitsugaya alone to end the war. Of course, many people were against it. What if Hitsugaya lost? The freedom of many kingdoms now lay on his shoulders. But the deal was already made and no one could find the elusive Aizen to discuss it further. Many had tried to reason with Hitsugaya not to do it but the agreement was already made; they couldn't take it back. Hitsugaya was very busy. Many leaders confronted him and argued his "brash" actions but they couldn't do much about the situation.

Karin heard the news immediately when it reached the home country. She was shocked. She didn't know if she should be happy about this or not. If Hitsugaya won this, then he'd immediately get to come home! She could see him again!

But if he lost, then that would mean that he'd be dead. That was one of two definitive possibilities. But if he continued to fight the war as he had been doing previously, then he'd probably have more chance of coming back home alive.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to believe. Her mind was leaning more towards the fact that he would lose and die.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." She called out softly.

"Ka-chan...?" Shiki looked up at her with big, dark eyes as Matsumoto held his hand and led him into the room.

Karin smiled feebly and held her hands out. He ran up to her with his recently acquired walking ability and she lifted him up. She held him close and planted a kiss on his forehead.

The twins were now nine months old. Since they'd never seen their father, they didn't really have any clue as to whom it was that people were talking about when the name Toushirou Hitsugaya came up. Karin repeatedly told them that their daddy was fighting in the war and that he was a great person but they didn't understand and it broke her heart. Hitsugaya should be here too, with them, talking to them, telling them the stories that Karin had to. They'd been shown portraits that had been painted of the king and they'd been shown numerous photos but they still didn't get it. They were only infants.

Karin caught Matsumoto's eye and the woman smiled encouragingly. Everyone knew of the duel now and everyone in the palace knew that the queen was at her emotional breaking point right now. She felt so unstable. She'd never ever felt the need to cry incessantly before but the very mention of _his_ name could set her off. She felt pathetic because so many people saw her but she couldn't hold it back. She missed him _so_ much. She hated herself for being so frail but she couldn't do anything about it. He was the only thing on her mind all the time and she spent a lot of her time in the seclusion of her bedroom so she got to brood over things a lot. She figured she had nobody else to blame but herself for her current condition. She felt truly pathetic.

"Wh-where's Sora?" She asked hoarsely.

"She fell asleep a few minutes ago." Matsumoto replied. "Shiki-kun still wanted to play but I fear he'd have woken her up so I brought him here instead."  
"I see. Shi-chan, why don't you go to sleep too?" Karin asked her son. He looked back at her defiantly and shook his head of black hair. Of the two, Shiki was less talkative. It was as if Sora spoke his share too; she was so chatty. It helped to distract Karin from her brooding sometimes and she was glad for that. Every time she had a few moments to herself, all she did was think about Hitsugaya and it made her depressed.

"Oh, Chikako-sama wished to speak with you." Matsumoto said suddenly.

Karin looked away from her son and up at the busty woman. "Why?" She asked in puzzlement. It was rare for Chikako to especially send for Karin. Usually, they didn't really have much to talk about, aside from the twins. But Karin was grateful for the woman's company sometimes. Chikako knew her son better than anyone and she never failed to assure Karin that he would definitely come back home to his family.

"I haven't a clue." Matsumoto shrugged.

"Right. Thanks, Matsumoto." Karin muttered as she stood up. She balanced the quiet Shiki on her hip and strode out of the room.

"No problem." Matsumoto smiled as she walked out after her.

When Karin arrived at the drawing room, Matsumoto took her leave by saying that she'd check on Sora.

"You wanted to talk, Okaa-sama?" Karin closed the door behind her and set her son on the floor.

Chikako looked up as the boy walked over to her. She set down the book that she'd been reading and picked him up and set him across her lap. "Yes, I did."

Karin took a seat and waited patiently. Chikako, like her son, only spoke when she felt it necessary and when she was ready. The white-haired woman brushed a stray strand of black hair back behind her grandson's ear and smiled down at him. Shiki just sat there, looking around. He wasn't as active as Sora was. Sora liked to run about and explore on her newly walking feet; she, unlike Shiki, wouldn't stay still now. Shiki was the quietly inquisitive type; if he was curious about something, he'd watch it from afar.

"I know you must be going through a lot right now, Karin." Chikako finally spoke after a minute or so.

Karin tore her gaze away from the floor and looked up at her mother-in-law. "I'm not the only one, Okaa-sama." She muttered, fidgeting with the border of her kimono's sleeve. She preferred wearing kimonos to dresses. Dresses were far too "poofy" in her opinion and kimonos didn't have any unnecessary fabric...aside from the broad sleeves, but she could live with those. Dresses made her feel odd.

"Indeed you are not." Chikako muttered vaguely.

Karin looked up at her with a sad smile. She respected her mother-in-law a great deal. The woman had an infinite amount of self-control. It was awe-inspiring. Karin knew the woman loved her son very much; he was all she had left (aside from her family in Atsuria). Oftentimes while the war was going on, Karin had seen her stare off into space a few times and her grey eyes were melancholic and it had seemed like she'd been about to cry but then she'd come back to reality and put on her usual stoic expression. She was always in control of her emotions. Karin envied her; she felt so pitiable in comparison. She had always thought that she'd had a strong will but compared to Chikako, it was so fragile. She hated having to bawl in front of the maids but sometimes, she was just too weak.

"I understand you have been a little more depressed as of late, Karin, and I cannot help but worry about you."

Karin opened her mouth to protest but Chikako held up a hand. "You are probably going to say something along the lines of "there's no reason to worry about me" but you are my son's wife and I care about you as I would a daughter of my own flesh and blood."

"Okaa-sama..." Karin muttered, moved by the honesty in the woman's words.

Chikako turned her head to her daughter-in-law and smiled. "I would just like you to know that Toushirou is a fine fighter, Karin. Urahara himself stated at one point that Toushirou was one of his best pupils. This duel should not be too hard for him."

"...Hai, Okaa-sama." Karin smiled, and for once it wasn't sad or fake but genuine and…almost relieved. She didn't know why but she felt a small amount of release at the woman's words. If Chikako sounded so sure of her son, then why couldn't Karin put her faith in him too? She owed that to him. She loved him.

Shiki was falling asleep against his grandmother's abdomen. Chikako pulled him securely into her arms and lifted him and stood up. She made to walk out of the room but paused awhile as Karin spoke.

"Arigato...Okaa-sama..."

She smiled and continued on her way, being careful not to jostle the child in her arms as she opened the door. Shiki slept on, clueless to the exchange.

* * *

I really didn't want to make Karin go quite so pathetic but, hey! Her beloved, who means the world to her, is out in the battlefield and there's every chance that he might not come back. I'd be in hysterics too, even though I HATE crying in front of people so don't gimme any grief about OOCness, okay? Much appreciated :D


	32. Part II: Homecoming

The day of the match arrived. Hitsugaya refused to feel nervous. He was confident in his abilities. Urahara was confident in his abilities too and, somewhere among the masses of the allies' waiting soldiers, Ichigo wished his brother-in-law the best. Ichigo had fought Hitsugaya several times in the past and he couldn't disagree that the king was good at combat. No wonder the man had come down to personally take part in the war; what kind of warrior would sit back and do nothing while action was breaking loose right under his nose?

Hitsugaya's sword had been prepared. It had been a gift from Ukitake. The older, white-haired man had wished Hitsugaya the best of luck when he sent the present. Hitsugaya had been training for days with it and he already felt that the weapon was a part of him.

The blade was that of a standard katana but with light blue weaving on the hilt instead of black. The guard was in the shape of a four-point star and the flat of the blade towards the blunt edge was engraved with the carving of a dragon. At first, Hitsugaya had thought it was more the type of blade to be put on display as opposed to actually being utilised but it was so elegant and swift; he'd tried it out immediately. Urahara had overseen his training and the man was as impressed as ever.

Now, the whole company was gathered towards the trench (along with a few choice officials from every participating country, for their own reasons), leaving a wider than necessary berth across no-man's-land for the two contenders. Aizen's men were lined up on the other side in a similar fashion. Both sides, from orders of their respective leaders, had their guns lowered by their sides. The deal was that if Aizen was killed, the Arrancar would retreat and if Hitsugaya was killed, the allies would forfeit (or they could still stand their ground; if Aizen survived, it wouldn't really matter to him if the allies chose to continue their war. If Hitsugaya was dead, then one of the key players in the war would be no more; it would be a _huge_ benefit to Aizen).

The two contestants moved towards one another and stopped in the middle of no-man's-land. How odd it felt, to Hitsugaya, to be walking across this barren land without his gun or his usual gear and boots.

"Good afternoon, Hitsugaya-san." Aizen greeted with a smile.

Hitsugaya curtly inclined his head by way of response and muttered stiffly, "Aizen."

Aizen was dressed in the same kind of garb that he'd been wearing during their first encounter and Hitsugaya had changed out of his usual combat gear and heavy boots and had opted for a more traditional outfit. He wore a black kimono with a matching hakama, tied at the waist with a white sash. He also wore a rather regal-looking white haori on top (at Urahara's insistence; he had to have something that identified him as being superior). At his waist, held in place by his sash, was the sword that he'd be using.

"Shall we get started?" Aizen asked after a few moments. It was aggravating Hitsugaya that the brown-haired man's smile wouldn't leave his face. This was a solemn occasion! He shouldn't be looking so relaxed! But Hitsugaya refused to be intimidated. He wasn't scared of some big shot! He would win this! He had to win this, for the free world, for his country...for his family. He would win this. "Have you said your last words?" Aizen taunted.

"I have said what needed to be said." Hitsugaya muttered. He was no fool; he didn't know of Aizen's strong or weak points. He had taken care of all the details should he not survive this fight. He had written out his will and he had finished writing his last letters to his mother and his wife. He had told Urahara what would need to be done in the event that he died. There was a very fine line between optimistic assumptions and arrogance and Hitsugaya was relatively sure he knew where that line started and finished.

"Let's just get on with this, shall we?" The king said stonily.

Aizen's smirk didn't slip one bit. "But of course."

And suddenly the fight started. The two warriors drew their swords, took up their stances, and lunged.

The crowds (including the Arrancar, who didn't often get to view their leader in action) watched with bated breath.

The two swords met with a metallic clash and the two fighters stepped back to gain leverage and attacked again. Aizen was quick; his agility was astounding but it wasn't something that Hitsugaya had never come across before. Urahara was the best teacher that Hitsugaya had ever had and, in his past, the blond man apparently used to hold the title of best swordsman in the world (global contests used to be held not too long ago wherein fighters could determine their skills against opponents from every nation). The blond man was agile, powerful, and he always planned his moves carefully. All of these factors had been impressed upon Hitsugaya as soon as Urahara became his teacher. And, by the time he reached the age of eighteen, he could effortlessly match the man's moves.

It very much came in handy now; Aizen's skill with the sword was phenomenal. But so far, Hitsugaya was matching him easily; he used to be a child prodigy, after all. He learnt and grasped necessary information and skills at a very early age.

The look of strain on Aizen's face suggested that he'd been putting in more effort than he'd originally planned. Hitsugaya was surprising him. Of course, he'd done his homework on the young king but he'd not suspected that Hitsugaya would be _this_ good. If this kept up, then he'd have to make use of his knowledge of the forbidden arts. But he shouldn't have to! He'd been practising with the sword for centuries! No one should be able to match him! No one! He should have been the best! He'd spent lifetimes perfecting this art! He would not be beaten by a child who had not lived anywhere _near_ a quarter of his existence! He would not!

"Way of destruction, number four, Byakurai." He lifted his index finger up off the hilt and pointed it at Hitsugaya as their swords met again.

White lightning shot out of his fingertip but before it reached very far, it suddenly faded. He stared in surprise and Hitsugaya took advantage of the lapse in his guard and swiped his sword at the brown-haired man's arm.

Aizen grit his teeth as the blade dug into his skin but he managed to block the sword before it entirely cut off his limb. But it began to bleed heavily. His white robe was beginning to turn red. That arm was useless now. Hitsugaya had cut it deep enough that he'd severed various nerve cells. Aside from the blinding pain, he couldn't feel anything.

He parried another blow from Hitsugaya's sword and thrust his own weapon but Hitsugaya easily blocked the attack. He couldn't believe he'd let his guard down! But he'd never encountered someone who had actually managed to slice his arm quite so much! Aizen was alert! He prided himself on his cautiousness! This shouldn't be happening to him! He was supposed to be the best! He'd brought down so many leaders beyond the border divide with these hands. These hands of his had full mastery of the art of swordsmanship! He shouldn't be losing to an amateur!

In a fit of rage, he began to thrust out blindly. Hitsugaya saw too many openings in his guard and he struck. The blows went quite deep but Aizen still staggered on and aimed wildly at Hitsugaya, but all his strikes were either stopped or missed the mark altogether. If he'd just get himself under control, he would have been able to fight reasonably. But his emotions, which were usually kept under tight control, were now running amok. All he felt at that moment was pure rage.

He was lucky; so far, Hitsugaya had not moved quickly enough to capture a vital area but the brown-haired man's white robes were still getting stained with blood all over. At one point, the uncontrollable thrusts that Aizen aimed at his enemy struck home and Hitsugaya gasped as his left arm was cut open from his mid-bicep to just below his elbow. But it didn't mean he still couldn't fight. He refused to lose his temper; if he did that, his guard would drop just like Aizen's and the battle would be over and Aizen would probably win.

He was winning now; all he had to do was down Aizen.

It stretched on for perhaps a minute more. Hitsugaya was a little incapacitated because of the pain in his arm but he could still fight. Aizen was almost grinning again after seeing the king's blood spill out. He'd gotten some of his blind rage under control but his movements were still wild and jerky.

Predictably, Hitsugaya won.

It all happened so fast. One minute, Aizen was blocking an attack from his enemy and the next, Hitsugaya's sword penetrated the flesh directly atop his heart. Blood came pouring out of his mouth and his fingers loosened upon the hilt of his sword and the weapon clattered uselessly onto the dirt floor.

Hitsugaya removed his sword and, as was proper, he swung it through the air to rid the blade of his opponent's blood and then returned it to its scabbard. It should have been an easy task but he couldn't hold his scabbard in place because his arm hurt too much so he had to opt for pinning it against his thigh. He finally managed it (amid the stinging pain in his left arm).

There was silence for a while as Aizen writhed on the floor and then became suddenly still. Hitsugaya looked up at the Arrancar who was standing some ways, the one with the black hair and the green tear markings on his cheeks. His name, apparently, was Ulqiourra Schiffer and he was Aizen's right hand man.

The Arrancar walked towards him and stopped some feet away. "You have won. We shall stick to the deal and retreat." He said in a monotonous tone.

"See to it that you do." Hitsugaya said wearily.

Ulqiourra offered him a small nod of the head and then walked back to his army.

When the Arrancar had climbed down to their own trenches, Hitsugaya's soldiers (as well as the officials who had gathered) all began to cheer. Several men immediately departed to spread the news. Hitsugaya walked back to Urahara.

"Good match, milord." Urahara remarked with a small smile.

"Thanks, Urahara." The king gasped in pain as he was patted on left shoulder. The movement had sent tremors down his arm and caused the pain in the wound to flare up.

"Before you do anything, I think we should get that arm seen to." Urahara noted cheerily. Hitsugaya sent him a blank stare; he understood that the war had just been won but did he need to sound quite so jovial about something like a severely wounded arm?

"Whatever."

"Cheer up, Hitsugaya-sama!" Urahara grinned. "The war's over and it's all down to you! You're a hero."

_The war's over._ Hitsugaya thought dazedly. _After three and a half years, it's over. I can go back! I can see Karin!_ And with that, he did cheer up. A small grin spread across his lips as he let Urahara lead the way back to the dugout to apply some first aid.

* * *

Some three weeks later, at about midnight, the renowned "war hero" (by the standards of the entire free world) and Urahara alighted upon the shores of home. They were among the last ones to come back; all the other soldiers from their country were already home. Some soldiers had yet to arrive though; they had to take it slow otherwise the home country would be overwhelmed.

The king's arrival had been kept a secret from the rest of the country. Urahara led him through the docks, keeping up the happy chatter as he went. He had insisted on carrying the king's bags but he had his own baggage to worry about so Hitsugaya had said he'd be all right in lifting up his own. But Urahara was adamant; the wound in the king's arm was still healing so he shouldn't be upsetting it in any way. Besides, not only was he a king; he was a war hero. It was the least Urahara could do for him.

But Hitsugaya knew that he'd never have done it without the blond man's help. Urahara had not only taught him to fight so well but, on the day of the match, he'd created a barrier around Hitsugaya which prevented all types of forbidden arts being used on him. When Hitsugaya heard about that, he wasn't really sure what he should have said but Urahara reasoned that it would not have been a fair fight if Aizen had the advantage of "magic". All he had done was ensure that the fight would be normal. Hitsugaya had thanked him for that.

When they emerged out of the docks, Hitsugaya was a little shocked. Urahara turned to him and grinned as they spotted a carriage riding towards them. Hitsugaya would have passed it off as just a random passer-by but Urahara's grin would suggest something entirely different.

"I thought our arrival here was supposed to be kept on the down low?" He asked his teacher/bodyguard/advisor.

"Well, it is." Urahara agreed with a knowing smirk. "I just wrote to your mother ahead of time and told her to meet us here."

"Okaa-sama...? Why?" Hitsugaya asked in confusion. The carriage stopped some distance away from them and the hooded figure jumped down from the front.

"To pick you up, of course. If we'd told anyone else, the whole country would have found out." Urahara replied as if it were obvious.

Hitsugaya thought as they began to walk forward. The hooded figure met them at the front of the carriage and uncovered her face. Hitsugaya's eyes widened.

"Okaa...sama...?" He muttered. He'd assumed that his mother would be inside the carriage, not the one driving it! He didn't even know she could do that! He'd not seen his mother in over three years! Chikako smiled as she came to stand before him.

"Hello, Toushirou." She said softly.

"Okaa-sama..."

"How are you?" She asked, amused at his apparent speechlessness.

Hitsugaya cleared his head and smiled down at her. "I am well, Okaa-sama. How are _you_?"

"I am as I have always been, Toushirou, though I was immensely worried about you." She answered. And then her smile slipped a little and she reached a hand up and put it to her son's cheek. Her eyes were suddenly wet. "I am so happy to see that you've come back in one piece, my son."

"Okaa-sama..." he put his own hand over hers and then enfolded her in an embrace. She had never been used to that from him so she was initially surprised but she relaxed and returned the embrace as a tear streaked down her cheek. But she couldn't afford to appear weak now. She couldn't! She'd been strong these past few years so she couldn't let it all go to waste now!

But she was so happy! Her son had come back home!

They broke apart after a few seconds and then she ordered him to climb into the carriage. Urahara had been busying himself with the task of loading the bags into the vehicle so as to give the two some privacy.

"Urahara, you're driving." She ordered before she followed her son and climbed aboard.

"Nice to see you too, your highness," the blond man called out sarcastically. Hitsugaya grinned. _Some things never change_, he thought.

* * *

It was dark when he opened the door. He should have been expecting it but some small part of him had been hoping that Karin would be awake. The only light in the room was the dull glow of lamps coming in through the window from the palace grounds. He flicked on the light (**just so you know, the first light bulb was invented in 1880 or some shit like that an this takes place in a society equivalent of 1900-1920, during WW1 :D, so artificial light is totally acceptable, even though I have said before that this is a nowhere society**) in the room and squinted in the sudden brilliance.  
He smiled a little as he took in the familiar features of his bedroom but there were a few changes (it was a lot less sparse than he remembered). He walked quietly over to the bed and sank down in it, being careful not to jostle too much.

He could see Karin's black hair but her face was hidden by the blanket. He gently lifted the covers away and smiled again when he saw her features. She looked peaceful. He'd not heard from her in quite a few months now so he was immensely relieved to see that she was okay. He sighed deeply and got off the bed to get changed.

After doing so, he went to take off the light and then climbed into the bed as quietly as he could. He curled an arm about Karin's waist and breathed in her scent deeply. It felt so good to be home.

He woke to the feel of something wet dripping onto his cheek. He opened his eyes blearily and found that it was light. He beheld two teary dark orbs of midnight-blue.

Karin immediately rubbed her eyes when she saw that he was awake. "T-Toushirou..." She mumbled as she kneeled above him. Her lower lip was trembling.

Hitsugaya sat up slowly. "Karin..."

"When did you get here? Why didn't you wake me?" Her voice was hoarse. He figured she'd been crying a lot. "I missed you so much!"

He quickly pulled her into an embrace and she sobbed into his chest. He didn't want to see her like this. Had he done this to her? Had she really been this miserable without him? His Karin wouldn't cry so easily. What had happened to her? "Karin...what's wrong...?" He asked softly.

She clutched the material of his garment tightly. "I-I...I'm so glad you're home..." her voice broke and she buried her head even farther into his chest as more tears came to the fore. "Please...don't...go again. And don't ask me to stay away from you."

He felt wretched at those words. His arms tightened around her. "I promise I won't." He mumbled into her hair.

She continued to sob for about a minute more and then she started to calm down. She disentangled herself from him and wiped at her puffy eyes. "Gee, you must think I'm pathetic."

He looked at her solemnly and shook his head. "Of course not." He pulled her close again and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I missed you." She wrapped her arms about his shoulders and buried her head in his neck.

"Why didn't you wake me?" She asked quietly.

"I didn't want to disturb you."

"You should have woken me." She muttered. "Do you know how long I've waited for the news of your return? Ever since the war was declared over, I waited every single day to receive a letter from you, telling me that you'd be back soon but none came and the newspapers weren't giving out anything either."

"I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a surprise." He said softly.

"You could have told me." She protested. "I wanted to be the first one to welcome you back."

"All that matters is that you're in good health." He mumbled.

She wound her arms a little tighter. "Thank god you're safe."

"Yes..." he pulled away and placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head back. He leant in slowly and pressed his lips against hers.

It was almost as if the touch was what lent the whole situation a reality. He was actually here, with Karin! He could feel her against him. This was real. He pulled her as close as she could come and deepened the kiss.

He was about to slip his hands under her nightdress when there was a knock at the door. More than a little annoyed, Karin separated from her husband and got off the bed. "Yeah?"

"Sumimasen, Karin-chan, but Sora-chan..." Matsumoto came into the room holding onto a white-headed little girl. She saw Hitsugaya and her eyes widened. "Shirou-kun...!"

Matsumoto had always called Hitsugaya "Shirou-kun". She had been since the day he'd been born so Hitsugaya didn't really mind it coming from her. "Matsumoto." He said softly by way of greeting. It was good to see her again. She was one of the closest friends he had.

Matsumoto's astonished expression relaxed into a smile. "Welcome home, your majesty." She bowed low.

"Thanks." Hitsugaya's attention was, by now, fixed on the little girl. Matsumoto followed his gaze and set the child down on the floor. She then bowed again and took her leave, leaving the parents with their child.

Sora walked over to her mother on wobbly feet and Karin picked her up. Her grey-eyed gaze never left Hitsugaya's, and the king didn't look away either.

Karin brought the girl to the bed and set her down. "Sora, this is daddy." She said softly. Sora looked away from her father and up at her mother. Karin smiled.

Sora then looked back at Hitsugaya and then crawled into his lap and settled in comfortably. She looked up at him and pointed at Karin and blabbed out something that sounded like a question, but it was in baby language. Hitsugaya couldn't have stopped the grin that blossomed across his face even if he'd tried. He looked over at Karin to see that she was also grinning.  
"She talks a lot." She said.

"Really?" Hitsugaya turned back to the child sitting in his lap. He shifted his position on the bed so that he was sitting cross-legged and set her on his thigh. He smiled a little when she looked at him. She then posed another question but when she only got another amused expression, she began to babble on, gesticulating all over the place.

Karin laughed. "Okaa-sama says that she takes after your father." She smiled fondly at the little girl and smoothed her white hair back from her face.

Hitsugaya gazed down at the girl with an unusually soft expression. It was quite incredible to think that this child here was his. It was amazing. He was really a father! It was like receiving the news all over again! And meeting one of his children in person was far better than he'd have thought. He'd never have thought that a child of his could have been so chatty! It was incredible! Just listening to her chatter away in a language completely unknown to the rest of humanity was amazing.

"Where's the other one?" He asked after a while. He was itching to see the boy too. To think that he'd _finally_ get to see them! Sora paused in her chatter when she heard him speak and looked up at him.

"Shiki's probably still sleeping." Karin replied.

"Nii-tama...?" Sora mumbled.

"Yes, Nii-sama." Karin smiled as she ruffled her white hair. "Come on, he'll probably wake up in a while anyway. He always gets up a few minutes after Sora does. Matsumoto usually brings Sora over here so she doesn't disturb him. She's quite fond of getting on his nerves at times." She smiled affectionately at the girl. She held her hands out and Sora let herself be lifted up into her mother's arms.

Hitsugaya stood up and the three of them walked out of the room. The twins' room was right next to Hitsugaya and Karin's. Karin pushed the door open to a room full of vibrant colours. There were intricate purples and lilacs on one side, in accordance to the blankets and bedding of the white cot. And on the other side, showing off a similar white cot but with blue bedding instead, was full of every shade of blue imaginable. Hitsugaya noted that there was no hint of pink anywhere (Karin wasn't particularly fond of that colour).

And on the blue side, sitting down in the cot and clutching the wooden bars, was a boy with black hair and green eyes that immediately reminded Hitsugaya of his own. The boy stood up (shakily; he hadn't been using his feet for long so he was still a little wobbly) as his visitors approached.

"Nii-tama!" Sora cried out happily. Shiki rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to the person behind his mother. Hitsugaya smiled and held his arms out but the boy just stared at him.

"He's...not as trusting as Sora is." Karin said thoughtfully. "It'll take him a while to begin to trust you because he's never seen you before."

"Oh." Hitsugaya retracted his hands and just took to gazing at his son.

"Here." Karin held Sora out to him and she then proceeded to pick Shiki up. Sora called out to her brother and wriggled around in her father's arms but he held on steadily. Shiki ignored her and laid his head against Karin's shoulder as they turned to walk out of the room.

After getting the twins ready, the two grownups got ready (taking turns to look after the kids) and then they all headed downstairs. Hitsugaya loved the feeling he got when he looked at the twins; these were really his kids! He couldn't get over how amazing that fact was.

Breakfast began as a tedious affair. The maids were all shocked to see that the king had returned. But after their initial ogling and bowing and muttering timid greetings to both the king and queen, they decided to get on with their jobs.

Matsumoto was called on to take care of the twins while Chikako, Hitsugaya and Karin ate. Karin was sitting on Hitsugaya's left while his mother sat on his right. After the twins were out of his field of vision, his gaze strayed to his wife and wouldn't move, and Karin was watching him wholeheartedly too. Their breakfast was going unnoticed. She smiled and he responded in kind.

After breakfast, they excused themselves and decided to go for a walk about the palace grounds. Karin held on tightly to his arm.

"It was so bad here without you." She mumbled, looking down. "It felt so...empty."

"I'm...here now." He said quietly. He still couldn't believe he was back! It all felt so surreal! Home was so different from the reality of the battlefield. And he could be a proper father now!

"Yeah..." she stopped to wipe at her eyes. She laughed weakly. "You _really_ must think I'm pathetic."

"No, I don't." He disagreed. "If I didn't have too much pride, I'd probably break down too."

She laughed genuinely at that. He took the opportunity to push her up against the wall they'd been walking alongside and pushed his lips onto hers.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." He said breathlessly as he broke away some time later.

"I think I can." She muttered softly amid breaths. She took his head in both hands and pulled him back and kissed him roughly. How good it felt to finally feel him here, right next to her! It was like she was the one who had just come home. Everything seemed to be full of light and colour now, whereas it had just been black and white before. She was so happy! And she would never let him go.

* * *

An there you have it people! The story that I've worked hardest on in this past year :) an I was making it up as I went along, eh heh heh. It's not a very good thing for an author to do, but...oh well! An watch out for the mega-short epilogue that's comin next :D


	33. Epilogue

_**Epilogue:**_

"Goodnight, Sora." Hitsugaya leant down and pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead.

"G'night, daddy!" The white-haired girl grinned as she pulled her blanket up to her forehead. He stood up straight and went across the room to the bed occupied by Shiki. The twins had been offered separate rooms (goodness knew there were more than enough empty chambers in the palace) but they liked sharing.

"G'night, daddy." Shiki muttered with a small smile. Hitsugaya smiled too and pressed a small kiss to the boy's brow.

"Goodnight, kid." He smoothed back Shiki's black hair from his face and straightened up again. He turned to walk out of the room but he was stopped by Sora's voice.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you tell me what happens to the Prince and Cinderella?" She asked timidly.

Hitsugaya smiled. "Tomorrow, okay? It's time to sleep now."  
"Hai." She said cheerily. Hitsugaya clicked off the light and closed the door and walked into his own bedroom.

"So, Cinderella, huh?" Karin asked as he slipped under the bedcovers beside her. She'd heard him through the open door. The twins' room was right next to theirs, after all.

"I don't know any other ones." He said defensively.

She laughed. "There's loads!"

"I know, but Cinderella's the one that best goes with us, right?"

She smiled affectionately and kissed his cheek. "Yeah..."

He pulled her closer and covered her mouth with his own. "But our story goes way beyond Cinderella, right?" He mumbled as he pulled away.

She grinned. "Too right." She leant in for another kiss. "Prince Charming never held the title of war hero."

"Forget about that already." He sighed. "It's already been seven years since then."

"I know, but I could never forget what it felt like when you came back home." She murmured as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I love you, Toushirou."

Hitsugaya smiled and held her close. "I love you too, Karin."

* * *

An it's "goodbye Shindererra forever!" Yes! Halleluja! It's finished! Yes! Whoot! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah! (I is boogying, if that's a word :D) Anyway, I have to thank all the people who put this on fav or alert. Thank you for reading and for those select few who reviewed, thanks to you too! It was very encouraging to see those comments :D Buh-bye!


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